(Editors Note: This column appears in the September edition of Warpaint Illustrated)
Like the Olsen Twins and the World Series of Poker, Dante Hall has grown up right before our very eyes.
-Ive been talking about it all summer to my friends and family, man. I cant believe Im going into my seventh season.-
The once tentative running back out of Texas A&M is now the seasoned X-Factor entering season number-seven in the NFL.
-Im starting to get vet privileges. On the charter plane, Im actually in first class now, I thought I was gonna have to wait ten years to make it up there! Its a lovely thing.-
Yet, for every perk being a veteran brings, Hall feels like a rookie all over again. His longtime special teams coach Frank Gansz Jr. left for Baltimore. His steady kick return running mate Gary Stills is in New England. A new system has him wondering just where to be and when to be there.
-We are running a totally different scheme, I feel like a rookie again. The returns are all different. The responsibilities are totally different. As for me, Im loving that because I think teams facing us got used to what we do, now we will catch teams off guard.
The red-and-gold crazies in the 300-level need not fret about the Human Joysticks fireworks being doused by the winds of change. Hall has history on his mind, sitting tied with the immortal Gayle Sayers atop the all-time kickoff returns for touchdowns list with six.
-Thats very cool, very, very cool. But I want to pass Gayle. I want to pass Gayle! Then I would really have something to brag about to my son, Adonis! But for me its always been about the team first. I dont care if you rush for 1,700 yards, return ten kicks, catch 15 balls, thereีs probably ten other guys who had a lot to do with it.-
On top of it, new coach Herm Edwards drastically scaled back the length and intensity of training camp practices, leaving Hall and the rest of his teammates energized and refreshed.
-I can feel my legs!- Hall says laughing. -Its a whole new program, Coach Edwards was a former players so he runs it the way a player would want it. As a (former) player coming through, you know how your body feels, how your mind can turn into mush. I just think going through what he went through as a player, the coach tends to think and go about business like a player. Little things that a coach that never played the game would never understand.-
After his historical breakout season of 2003, where he garnered his second consecutive Pro-Bowl honor and left Arrowhead mouths agape with his staggering dine-and-dash against the Broncos, Hall faced a whole new set of hurdles. No longer did he have to prove his place in the league. He had to prove that ridiculous 03 season of five returns for touchdowns (which had never been accomplished before) were no fluke.
Opposing special teams drew up specific plays to limit his touches and effectiveness, sometimes going so far as simply drilling it out of bounds and asking the defense to make up the difference. The last two seasons for Hall have been like borrowing a friends IPod. You hope your favorite artist is loaded, but you just have no idea what to expect.
Halls touchdowns on kick returns were squeezed to just three combined over the past two seasons. Additionally, Hall was asked to focus on developing as a wide receiver as well. The Chiefs needed receiving depth with injuries to Johnny Morton and youngsters Samie Parker and Craphonso Thorpe still not-ready-for-prime-time players. This season, though, Halls focus is back on doing what he does best, leaving kickoff coverage teams with whiplash.
There will still be one huge void this season for Hall. His father figure and motivator, Dick Vermiel, stepped down after five seasons of molding the X-Factor. Vermiel was the one who pumped him up as a youngster when he was deflated, made him believe he had a spot in the league when no spot was open.
-It was very hard to see him go, I mean I shed a tear for two days straight. He was a great coach and everybody loved him and appreciated him for the person that he was, it was hard, really hard, to see him go.-
Time flies when youre bringing back kicks to the house, flashing the X-Factor symbol in end zones and are generally regarded as the premier return artist in the NFL. But theres still something missing for Hall.
-I cant believe Im going into my seventh campaign. The only negative is Ive only been to the playoffs once. Thats the only negative.-
Will 2006 come up Lucky-7s for Hall? Chiefs fans hope X marks the spot.
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DA LOVES THE KIDS: Part 2 Not everyone is thrilled with the hiring of Eric Spoelstra. INSTANT CLASSIC: Free-agent Joe Horn blasts his old coaches and asks for Dolphins forgiveness, all live on the show! INSTANT CLASSIC: The man who took down Kimbo Slice: overnight celebrity Seth Petruzelli talks about the fight that stunned the fight world. BEST OF: Author Jeff Pearlman on the controversial Cowboys dynasty. Uh, ew. BEST OF: Heat rookie Mario Chalmers needs help hot-boxing. Cough, cough.. BEST OF: DA is named a Godfather. Can he handle the responsibility or will he sleep with the fishes? BEST OF: DA witnesses the greatest kids game ever. Rock, paper, scissors, space! STAR WARS GEEKS: Part 1 DA goes where no sportstalk host has gone before: Star Wars premier night.
STAR WARS GEEKS: Part 2 Will DA make it out alive or turn into an extra from the Cantina Bar? INSTANT CLASSIC: Legend of the MMA Dan "Hendo" Henderson on the circus attraction to Kimbo and the rise of UFC. BEST OF: New UFC Champ Forrest Griffin on the belt and bouncing out of fighting while the gettin's good. INSTANT CLASSIC: Zo's youth clinic brings us immediate joy: Heat Kids Say the Darndest Things BEST OF: Miami boxer Joey "Twinkle Fingers" Hernandez found himself on the streets. How he got his mojo back. BEST OF: CBS4 Weather Wizard and Miss Florida Lissette Gonzalez on the jet-stream and the wave. BEST OF: Marino delivers a commencement speech and DA's own graduation horrors. INSTANT CLASSIC: Cats winger Nathan Horton is married to a Playmate? Oops. INSTANT CLASSIC: What does JoePa really mean at pressers? Ask Penn State 101. INSTANT CLASSIC: St. Patty's Day means celebrating Irish sports legends: DA Show style. INSTANT CLASSIC: Canes Big Man Dwayne Collins has his Aladdin DVD stolen. The Horror! INSTANT CLASSIC: Dontrelle says peace to South Florida with DA. Here's his Top-3 movies of all-time. SUPER BOWL XLII: NYG's Lawrence Tynes stops by after the ticker tape parade. INSTANT CLASSIC: Is Shaq becoming M.C. Hammer Jr? Say it ain't so. INSTANT CLASSIC: DA melts down as his alma mater brings brings back the dimwitted Greg Robinson for more SU pain. INSTANT CLASSIC: This placed DA squarely on the Chiefs blacklist forever. DA and King Carl in THE Battle Royale. BEST OF: Where it all started: Herm
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one, the only, Zach Greinke from Royals Spring Training. The
2007 One NIT NIT Moment.
The 2006 Caller Hall of Fame Track One: Christopher Walken's legendary roast
of the new class
First the staff. Then listeners. Now LJ has the Herm-gasm? Crazy
Ray sings the Growing Pains theme song. The
Royals 70's jingle that puts a smile on your face during another horrid season
in KC. The
local TV anchors slip up on the broadcast and luckily the D.A. Show was rolling
tape. 6-6-06:
The Crypt Keeper's Holiday Crazy
Ray displays his talent for singing. Could he make a run at the next American
Idol? Oklahoma
takes it on the chin with this famous call from R.B. Missed
any of the NIT NIT action? Check out the recaps of the games and a special
edition of The One NIT NIT Moment. We
couldn't leave Alex the Intern out of the mix, check out the drunk dial message
Alex left for D.A. The
D.A. Show tribute to Alan Thicke.
Is
Crazy Ray really crazy? Take a listen to find out.
A
D.A. Show Investigation reveals color commentators handing out the pink slip
to local college coaches.
Quinner's
feeling a bit down. We ask, what's wrong with Quinn Snyder? Herm Edwards gave us quotable material right from jump street. He gets a montage based on his introduction presser. A
staple of any good office party. It's the Dick Vermeil montage XP: final edition.
Duh, ok.
DA's Hometown Hottie contest created controversy throughout KC. Radio superstar Johnny Dare stuck his nose in the middle of it. The
callers finally had their own chance to put their stamp on the Vermeil montage Why
do the sista's hate the show? It all started here: Yvette's call of the day The original D.A. Show parody of Jim Rome's smack-off (circa '04). The '05 D.A. Show parody of Jim Rome's smack-off, complete with a certain national columnist. The '06 smack-smack, which brought all the D.A. Show legends together for one fab event. You asked for it. We delivered. DA Show icon Alan Thicke's first appearance.
By D.A.
