100 Things Chiefs Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die by Matt Fulks

Author:Matt Fulks
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Triumph Books
Published: 2014-08-07T00:00:00+00:00

Running back Priest Holmes (31) stares at the great blockers who cleared the way for him: (from left to right) Willie Roaf, Brian Waters, Casey Wiegmann, Will Shields, and John Tait.

“Casey was undervalued probably because of his size,” Green said of the 6'2" and 285-pound Wiegmann. “But he’s so smart and was such an incredible technician. Plus he was quick. He could beat guys bigger than him. Because of the linemen around him, he never got the credit he deserved. I was glad to see him have a Pro Bowl year with Denver [in 2008], but he should’ve gotten that recognition with us. I guess we couldn’t send our whole offensive line.”

Shields, whom the Chiefs selected out of Nebraska in the third round in 1993 to help protect Joe Montana, set a couple consistency marks with the Chiefs that aren’t likely to be broken. After not starting the first game of his rookie season, Shields went on to start 223 straight games—all for the Chiefs. That easily tops the team list for most games started (Tony Gonzalez is second at 174), most consecutive games started (Emmitt Thomas is second at 144), most games played (224) and is tied for second in most seasons with the Chiefs (14—Jerrell Wilson tops the list at 15). Shields, who was a Hall of Fame finalist in 2012, ’13, and ’14, should be enshrined soon.

Tait, the Chiefs’ first-round pick in 1999, spent the first half of his NFL career with the Chiefs and the other half, beginning in 2004, with Chicago. After starting only three games during his rookie year, Tait started 136 games after that with the Chiefs and the Bears. During his 10-year career, Tait was used at both left tackle and right tackle.

Tait effectively protected Green, who, as quarterback, knew which buttons to push with each of his linemen and how to lead them. “To find ways to communicate with guys was intriguing to me,” Green said. “I wasn’t a scream and cuss-a-guy-out quarterback. That’s worked for guys, but my thought was that it’d be better to encourage them. Granted, as some of the guys will tell you, I could give a look if I didn’t like something they did; Brian used to joke about that. I just tried to keep the guys relaxed, especially in big moments, but I could get fired up and really push them. A quarterback didn’t have to say much to Will or Casey, but I would go to those guys and have them get the other linemen going. Brian was a little more intense than the other guys so he liked the confrontation part of it. I could push his buttons a certain way. Willie was more relaxed and joking, but his button was with pride. So, if I needed to get him going, I could challenge his pride. That was a special group. I’d do anything for those guys.”

Homegrown Chief

Not many professional athletes get an opportunity to play for their hometown team, especially when that’s the Chiefs.

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