Chiefs’ Parker poised for breakout season

By Clayton Wendler  |   Monday, September 04, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Kansas City Chiefs
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It was an up-and-down 2005 season for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Samie Parker, to say the least.

The speedster from Oregon opened the season against the New York Jets last year as a first-time starter. The Chiefs were expecting big things from Parker, even jettisoning their No. 2 receiver from the previous year, Johnnie Morton.

Early returns were not promising.

Parker caught just nine passes in his first five games. His only touchdown came in garbage time against the Denver Broncos. And a lack of production was only the beginning of his problems.

Parker's game in Denver seemed symbolic of his early-season struggles. During the Chiefs' first possession, he was wide open crossing the middle of the field on third down. A perfectly placed pass by quarterback Trent Green was dropped, and the Chiefs had to punt.

Parker would drop several more passes that night. He disappeared the following week against the Philadelphia Eagles (zero catches), and soon thereafter went on the injured list with a left knee sprain.

Season lost?

Not so.

Parker returned a month later, and started against the Houston Texans. He ended that game with his third career touchdown catch, kicking off a season-ending streak that saw him haul in 27 receptions over seven games.

That was more than double his per-game output from the beginning of the season, and it tied for the team lead among Kansas City's wide receivers. Only tight end Tony Gonzalez exceeded Parker's reception total.

So what does all this mean for 2006?

Parker enters the season as the starter alongside veteran Eddie Kennison once again. But this time, he's got a little experience under his belt.

Parker missed almost his entire rookie year with a pulled hamstring. Which meant that 2005 was basically his first significant NFL experience, and it showed.

This year, he's been healthy all throughout the preseason. According to Green, he had the best camp out of all of the Chiefs' wideouts.

"He's made some great catches, great strides in terms of his consistency," said Green during training camp. "I thought against Minnesota, in the scrimmage with them going against some different players, he came up with some incredible catches. He's just really developed very well and for him the biggest thing is going to be staying healthy. It's been that way a couple of years now, but if he can stay healthy he can definitely be a 1,000-yard receiver and he can put up some big numbers for us."

In order to get those 1,000 yards, the Chiefs will have to take full advantage of Parker's speed. He ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.

But don't be fooled by Parker's smaller frame. He may be only 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, but he's got the ability to go over the middle.

"Everybody immediately thinks about his speed, because he is a fast player," said Green. "The one thing that we didn't realize, and I didn't realize when I first saw him was that he was going to be a guy willing to go across the middle and put his body in there and take the shots that he does. He's proven that he has the hands and the ability to go over the middle and take the hits and deal with those things. When you look at him, his stature doesn't suggest that's the type of receiver he is, but he's proven over the last couple of years that he's not afraid to do that."

Comments? Suggestions? Criticism? Contact C.E. Wendler at cwendler@realfootball365.com

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