Something's Got to Give for Dante
SOMETHING has got to give in Jacksonville this weekend as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the home team Jaguars in Week 6 NFL action, in a game which both teams are desperate to win.  |
| Dante Hall |
So far this season, Hall has been without his trademark big return as the Chiefs have struggled to a 1-4 start to the current campaign. His longest this season has been just 45 yards and he is currently averaging 26 yards on kickoff returns and 14 yards on punts. Hall is looking to put his 'X' back in the X-Factor.
As the Chiefs have struggled this season, so has Dante as more and more teams single him out as a marked man.
Speaking in Kansas City this week, Hall said: "The first game against Denver, they did a great job kicking the ball out of the end zone on kickoffs. Carolina, in the second game, had great coverage. Since then, I've had a couple of good returns called back for penalties." "He's defintely a marked man," Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil admitted. "But with patience and consistent work, they eventually will come."
Hall has also been unable to concentrate on his role as a returner after replacing receiver Eddie Kennison in the starting lineup in recent weeks. With Kennison healthy again, Hall can spend more time focusing on the most dangerous aspect of his game.
"Now I can fully focus on my role," Hall said. "You play 40 to 50 snaps a game, that makes it tough."
Hall will still be used in three-wide situations, according to head coach Vermeil.
"He's a very exciting guy - exciting for the Chiefs, not so exciting for the opponent," coach Jack Del Rio said. "He's been a very dangerous returner, and we'll have to be on top of our game to limit his ability to affect the football game."
The players clearing the way for Hall will also have to do a better job of getting him into the open field, Hall's former NFL Europe Pro Bowl teammate Gary Stills (Frankfurt 2001) admitted. Stills joined Hall in last year's even in Hawaii after being ovted the best Special Teams player by the league's players, coaches and fans.
"It's just a matter of time for him to get his game going," Stills said, "but it all comes back to making key blocks. We need to make better blocks, better decisions - and that's going to let him take it to the next level and get the touchdowns."
Or perhaps Hall will do it on his own. That's how he set the record, after all - with a back-and-forth, twisting, 93-yard punt return against Denver in the fifth game of the 2003 season. "As the season goes, with his innate ability, when we don't block anyone - that might be the one he returns," Vermeil said.
And so Hall waits, thinking each kick he fields could be the one that breaks the scoring block. "It's like running back Priest Holmes, when he gets the ball, he doesn't think, 'I'm only going to try to get two or three yards out of this carry,"' Hall said. "Every time he touches the ball, he's going to try to take it to the house. "That's the same thing with me. That's my role, every time -- to step up and make the big return."
In other Week 6 NFL action former Claymores return man J.J. MOSES will be hoping to keep his current run of form going as his Houston Texans visit the Tennessee Titans while Claymores 2002 MVP AARON STECKER will line up for the New Orleans Saints as they host Minnesota Vikings.
15 Oct, 04 | 8:01 pm