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MONDAY NIGHT NOTES
CHIEFS SEEK TO DEFEAT THIRD CONSECUTIVE Division leaders beware. That’s the message that should be posted outside Arrowhead Stadium as the Chiefs (3-6) have won consecutive games at home against clubs atop their respective divisions: 56-10 vs. Atlanta (10/24) and 45-35 vs. Indianapolis (10/31). "This coming Monday I think you will see them at their best," says Kansas City head coach DICK VERMEIL of his Chiefs. "Whether it will be good enough, only time will tell. I do know we are playing the best team in the National Football League." At least one Patriot with fond memories of the most recent New England-Kansas City meeting (9/22/02) is quarterback TOM BRADY. The owner of the AFC’s longest streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass (12) threw for a career-high 410 yards in a 41-38 overtime thriller against the Chiefs in Gillette Stadium. Brady, fourth in the AFC with 17 touchdowns, also has helped the Patriots score first in 14 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest streak all-time. The top three all-time streaks of teams scoring the first points of a game:
*Active New England is off to the best start of a season (8-1) in its 45-year history, but has not won in Kansas City in eight U.S. presidential administrations (and eight games) when VITO "BABE" PARILLI led the Patriots to a 31-24 decision on December 6, 1964. The AFC East leaders, who are outscoring opponents by nearly a 10-point margin this season, have earned victories in three of their past four Monday nighters and coincidentally scored 30 points in all three games won. A key difference-maker for this year’s Patriots is running back COREY DILLON, who was traded to New England from Cincinnati on draft day for a second-round selection. Dillon is riding a career-high four-game streak of 100 rushing yards. The eight-year NFL veteran from Washington already has five 100-yard games on the season, tying his career-best mark. Kansas City also knows something about moving the football. The NFL’s No. 1 offense (422.1 yards per game) features running back PRIEST HOLMES, who despite missing last week’s game due to injury, has more rushing touchdowns (14) than 30 NFL teams. As of today, Holmes is doubtful for Monday’s game with a knee injury. In addition to Holmes’ staggering rushing totals, quarterback TRENT GREEN has posted 300 passing yards in three consecutive games. Kansas City’s Holmes is one for five players in NFL history to register 15 or more rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons and is one rushing touchdown away from being the first player to accomplish the feat three years in a row:
*Has 14 rushing TDs in 2004 CHIEFS-PATRIOTS FACTOID The Patriots have defeated Kansas City in consecutive games four times in the series’ 45-year history, including the two most recent meetings (2000, 2002), but the Chiefs have never lost to the Patriots three times in a row. Kansas City snapped two-game losing streaks to New England in 1962, 1965, and 1990, and aims to halt the current streak Monday. MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS – NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS MASLOWSKI HONORED NATIONALLY Kansas City Chiefs linebacker MIKE MASLOWSKI was honored on November 17 in Washington, D.C. by U.S. Labor Secretary ELAINE L. CHAO as a recipient of her annual New Freedom Initiative Awards. Maslowski, who is the first athlete to receive the award, joined five businesses and three non-profit organizations in garnering the award. Through his work with The Greater Kansas City Foundation for Citizens with Disabilities via his Maz’s Mentors Foundation, the 6-2, 243-pound Wisconsin native has formed a program aimed at helping students with disabilities obtain jobs or continue their schooling. Additionally, he hosts monthly luncheons with employers where he emphasizes the benefits of hiring people with disabilities. This is a cause that hits close to home as Maslowski’s nephew LUKE has a disability and faced similar challenges when he finished high school. "We at the Chiefs are exceedingly proud and pleased for Mike," says Chiefs President CARL PETERSON. "This is most definitely a wonderful honor. Thanks to the work he has done through his Maz’s Mentors, he has become an important part of the Kansas City community." The NFI Award recognizes exemplary and innovative efforts to train, recruit, and hire people with disabilities, and to incorporate the principles of President GEORGE W. BUSH’s New Freedom Initiative (NFI). The NFI is a comprehensive set of proposals designed to give people with disabilities the opportunity to fully participate in all aspects of community life, including employment. "President Bush wants all Americans to have the opportunity to learn and develop skills and engage in productive work," says Chao. "The recipients of the 2004 Secretary of Labor's New Freedom Initiative Awards recognize the value that persons with disabilities bring to the workplace and exemplify that philosophy in their daily operations." NFL INTERNSHIPS New England Patriots linebacker MATT CHATHAM and defensive end JARVIS GREEN are two of more than 200 current and retired NFL players that have participated in the league’s Career Internship Program over the past year. Pro Football Hall of Famer MIKE HAYNES, who oversees the NFL player development department and internship program, says that the program is designed to help players prepare for life after football. "It exposes players to the workplace outside of football," says Haynes. Chatham, an English and criminal justice major at South Dakota, spent his offseason researching and writing as an intern at Esquire magazine. "It was awesome," recalls the 27-year-old Iowa native. "I was able to learn the industry. It was like having a backstage pass." Green has been working for Rolls-Royce Naval Marine in Walpole, Massachusetts, an outfit that designs and builds propellers for U.S. Navy craft. The 25-year-old majored in construction at LSU and believes the internship has given him direction and experience. "When I make the transition out of football," says Green, "it’ll be easier. I’ll have a connection. When football is over, that is what I want to do. This internship is a great learning experience." HOLMES SPEAKS ABOUT ONE WORLD Kansas City Chiefs All Star running back PRIEST HOLMES recently spoke to students at Notre Dame de Sion about a new program that the NFL has partnered with Scholastic to create. "One World: Connecting Communities, Cultures and Classrooms" is a program that encourages dialogue among students about respecting each other, valuing diversity and ethnic differences, and taking positive actions to build stronger, more inclusive communities. The program was made possible through the $10 million NFL/NFLPA Disaster Relief Fund. Holmes listened as the children told him what they had learned in their diversity classes and then spoke to them about respecting one another and valuing each other’s differences. "Those kids said some great things, stuff that made me think," says Holmes. "I think everybody on our team should go through a class like this and listen to kids talk about how we should all be open to each other." |