Right on schedule: the Chiefs' 4-0 record is the result of a slow and deliberate cultivation process by Dick Vermeil, who used the same plan to produce Super Bowl teams in Philadelphia and St. Louis - NFL - Kansas City Chiefs

What began as a seedling now has established roots in Kansas City, firm, thick roots woven beneath the grass at Arrowhead Stadium, roots that defy the Denver Broncos to take their best tug Sunday.

The Chiefs have come to our attention in one brief month, but their 4-0 record is the result of a slow, deliberate cultivation. Two seasons came and went and a third began before Dick Vermeil's team could be called the best in the NFL.

The pattern is similar to the one Vermeil followed in Philadelphia, where the Eagles made the playoffs for the first time in his third season. And it is reminiscent of what happened when Vermeil was in St. Louis, where the Rams won the Super Bowl in Year 3 of his program.

Continuity is what has enabled all of Vermeil's programs to thrive. Because Vermeil avoided panic, the Chiefs progressed without having to backtrack or take detours, as many other organizations do. "I have my way of doing it--what I call a process," says Vermeil, who won his 100th NFL game Sunday. "It involves patience. It involves working the roster from the bottom up as well as the top down, trying to set things together and build chemistry within a football team. I don't look for instant gratification. I hate to lose. It hurts to lose, but I understand the process."

Vermeil could have followed the advice of thousands last year and canned defensive coordinator Greg Robinson and started over on defense. Robinson's defense gave up more yards than any in the NFL, and more points than all but three defenses. But Vermeil was more concerned with stability than whatever spark a new coordinator might have provided. Now, his unswerving commitment to Robinson looks inspired.

"There's a lot more to it than blaming some football coach," Vermeil says. "Greg has done a good job of reorganizing his thinking and the staff's thinking."

Instead of deciding to replace Robinson, Vermeil and team president Carl Peterson gave him more support. They signed three free agents who made the defense better--end Vonnie Holliday, weakside linebacker Shawn Barber and cornerback Dexter McCleon, who intercepted Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller twice in the Chiefs' 17-10 win Sunday. More improvements came from the returns from injury of free safety Jerome Woods and nose tackle Ryan Sims, who had his third sack of the season against Baltimore.

It also appears that somebody got in Robinson's headphones with some friendly advice--something to the effect of, "Keep hanging your corners out to dry, and you will hang yourself." Robinson long has been known as a coach who will play man-to-man and blitz no matter the circumstances. But the Chiefs' cornerbacks are their weakest links, and last year they were even weaker when injuries forced aging Ray Crockett into significant playing time. "Their corners are suspect at best," one AFC pro personnel director says. "They're definitely not man corners."

Solution: more zones, less man. "They're not doing dumb things," Ravens coach Brian Billick says. "They're not leaving themselves vulnerable."

Inspired by the Bucs' success last year, the Chiefs simplified their defense. Their defensive call sheets for each game are about 25 percent smaller than those from a year ago. "They took a few things out that people were really confused on, that were really complicated," defensive end Eric Hicks says. "Everybody seems to have a better feel of it. Everybody's able to go out and concentrate on defeating the man in front of them, and that's been a big part of our resurgence."

The Chiefs also have been more discriminating about blitzing and pass-rush philosophy. This season, they have tailored their pass-rush game plans to the skills of the quarterback they face each week. "We're blitzing at opportune times when we can maximize our blitz efforts, which is a key," Hicks says. "In the past, we blitzed all the time."

In what arguably has been the Chiefs' most significant defensive play of the season, the call was a three-man rush and zone coverage on third-and 3 against Pittsburgh in Week 2. When McCleon hit receiver Antwaan Randle El, the ball was tipped into Woods' hands, and he returned it 46 yards for a touchdown. Both of McCleon's interceptions against the Ravens came in quarters coverage, a soft zone. "We've played a ton of it," he says.

Priest Holmes has become a more spectacular running back in each of Vermeil's three seasons, and it probably has more to do with familiarity than ability. "We've learned what Priest does best," offensive coordinator Al Saunders says. "We like to say we're an optional hole, space run team. The more we can get on the perimeter, the better we are."

So now Holmes is being used more on delayed plays like screens and draws, and on perimeter runs and passes. The Chiefs learned not to dictate what hole Holmes should run through, so they let the play develop, then let him decide.

With interior linemen who move like skateboarders and a running back with steady hands and patience, the Chiefs run the screen better than any team. That explains why Holmes had more yards after the catch--198--than any AFC player after three games. "When you combine his attributes with the mobility of the offensive line, he reads them very, very well, and he understands what they're doing," Vermeil says. "His sense of rhythm and patience in reading has really enhanced how he runs."

Now that the offensive line has found its groove, it is arguably the best in the NFL. Right guard Will Shields sets the standard for guard play. Left tackle Willie Roaf, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, might be playing the best ball of his career. Center Casey Wiegmann, the anchor of the line, is so athletic he can be found running interference 20 yards downfield on some screens. Left guard Brian Waters and right tackle John Tait are playing consistently well after going through periods of adjustment.

You know the blockers are doing theft jobs when Holmes consistently is getting by the initial wave of defenders. In four games, Holmes has been tackled by defensive linemen 26 percent of the time on running plays. By comparison, Miami's Picky Williams has been tackled by defensive linemen 50 percent of the time in his three games.

Quarterback Trent Green has made a few puzzling decisions this year, but he has shown significant growth from his first season in Kansas City (2001), when he led the league in interceptions (24). Some coaches might have looked for a better quarterback after that season, but Vermeil simply expected Green to become one.

Green's wideouts have been questioned by some, but Johnnie Morton, Eddie Kennison and Marc Boerigter have come through when Green has gotten them the ball.

In his first season in Kansas City last year, Morton was assigned to the flanker position. Lined up a yard and a half off the ball for the first time in his life, Morton felt like a stranger in a strange land, and he had his least productive year in eight seasons. In the offseason, instead of writing off Morton, Vermeil and Saunders moved him back to split end. "It's like home for me," says Morton, who made four out standing catches against the Ravens.

The Chiefs have established the best return game in the NFL in part because return man Dante Hall has been able to develop a feel for his blockers, and his blockers have been able to get a feel for him. "With Dante, when you make the initial block and he makes the initial move, it's a touchdown," says linebacker Gary Stills, a member of the kickoff return team.

The Ravens shut down Hall until they gave him a second chance at a fourth-quarter kickoff after an offside penalty. When referee Terry McAulay announced the penalty, you could almost hear the sinking of thousands of purple hearts in M&T Bank Stadium. Hall glanced over to his sideline and saw a line of pursed grins and clenched fists. His blockers told him, "This is the one."

Chiefs special teams coach Frank Gansz Jr. called for a return in a direction that was counter to their previous one, and the Ravens responded with two coverage men in one lane. That was all Hall needed to run 97 yards for the touchdown that won the game. It was his third touchdown return in three games--which never had happened in NFL history--and his sixth in nine games.

Dominant return games have been a staple of teams coached by Vermeil, who was the NFL's first special teams coach, for the Rams in 1969.

Vermeil, it seems, knows what can happen when he gives return men--as well as everyone else--a little time and space.

DYNAMIC DUO

Sunday's game was the first time former teammates Priest Holmes and Jamal Lewis played against each other since Holmes left Baltimore and signed as a free agent with Kansas city in April 2001. It was another day at the office for both running backs as Holmes finished with 90 yards rushing in 22 attempts and Lewis totaled 115 yards in 26 carries,

Aside from gaining Super Bowl rings together three seasons ago, the NFL careers of both men have followed divergent paths. Lewis entered the league as a much-sought-after commodity (he was the first running back and fifth player drafted overall in 2000), but Holmes was an afterthought, signed as a free agent by the Ravens after being passed over in the 240-player 1997 draft.

Even their running styles are different. Holmes is a scatback, a two-time Pro Bowl selection who has become perhaps the NFL's best combination of running and receiving. His 3,170 rushing yards and 4,456 total yards over the last two seasons were the most of any player. The powerful Lewis has become one of the league's most productive runners. Lewis and Tony Dorsett are the only players to rush for 1,000 yards or more for a Super Bowl champion in their rookie year. In the second game this season, Lewis bulled his way to an NFL-record 295 yards against the Browns.

                           LEWIS        HOLMES

AGE                          24           30
HEIGHT/WEIGHT             5-11/231      5-9/213
GAMES PLAYED/STARTED       36/33         82/53
RUSHING ATTEMPTS *          19.8         14.4
RUSHING YARDS *             91.7         69.0
AVERAGE *                   4.6           4.8
RUSHING TDS                  17           46
RECEPTIONS *                2.3           2.9
RECEIVING YARDS *           22.0         25.1
RECEIVING TDS                1             6
TOTAL TDS                    18           52
POINTS SCORED          110 ([dagger])     312

* Career average per game.

([dagger]) Includes one 2-point conversion.

E-mail senior writer Dan Pompei at dpompei@sportingnews.com.

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