By DOUG TUCKER, AP Sports Writer
September 21, 2004
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Their star running back is wearing an ankle brace and their best defensive back just got arrested.
That's the latest from the winless Kansas City Chiefs, a team that's opened the year 0-2 by missing tackles, dropping passes and looking nothing like the savvy collection of skilled veterans -- fresh off a 13-3 season -- that many fans expected would end their season in the Super Bowl.
``There'll be some teams 2-0 that will fold and there will be some teams that are 0-2 come on strong,'' coach Dick Vermeil said Tuesday. ``These guys have been through adversity before.''
The latest dose of bad news came early Monday when cornerback Eric Warfield was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving a few hours after intercepting two passes and returning one for a touchdown.
Johnson County, Kan., District Attorney Paul Morrison said he intends to file charges against Warfield. It would be the third time Warfield faced such a charge in the past three years. Under Kansas law, a third drunken driving charge is a felony that comes with a sentence of up to a year in jail.
Morrison, who said the case could be delayed until after the season, said professional athletes can expect no special leniency.
``We try to treat them like we would any other person,'' he said. ``They sure don't get any special treatment.''
Warfield could also be subject to a league suspension as a repeat violator. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Commissioner Paul Tagliabue would decided on any punishment, but not until the criminal case is finished.
Vermeil said he plans to start Warfield on Sunday at home against the Houston Texans.
I am sure that Warfield is going to play though.