Todd Haley's Demanding Workouts Will Make KC Chiefs a Better Team

By now, most people have heard that Todd Haley is a no-nonsense guy. We saw this last year during the Cardinals Super Bowl run when Haley was arguing with star wide receiver Anquan Boldin on the sideline.

We heard about his combative nature from the media when he was hired as head coach in February, and we saw this again when Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters had a bumpy first meeting with his new head coach.

Brandon Albert saw Haley's no-nonsense approach as soon as he got to Kansas City this year.

"The first day I got here," Albert said on Sunday, "when I weighed in, he said, 'Oh, no, no, no, no.' "

Albert weighed in at 341 pounds that day in March, about 25 pounds heavier than his listed weight last year during an impressive rookie season in which he made the switch from guard to tackle, and did it quite well.

Haley made his presence felt right away for Albert when his new head coach gave him another big goal and asked him to drop more than 35 pounds to a playing weight of 305 for the upcoming season.

The now svelte left tackle has dropped almost 30 pounds since then and is working hard with his newly hired nutritionist to drop even more.

Albert's not the only player who hit the buffet line too many times in the offseason.

"Dwayne's another one who probably let himself go too far in the offseason," Todd Haley said during an interview, "so it's been a long road back when you're trying to lose 20-25 pounds."

The Chiefs are already looking like a new team.

"Physically, conditionally, strength-wise, we look like a different group of players for the most part," Haley says. "We've lost 338 pounds, which is a significant amount of weight."

Haley figures the average weight loss for an NFL team during offseason workouts is between 125 and 150 pounds.

Maintaining proper weight can be crucial to a successful season. Brandon Albert says he knows the extra weight he was carrying around last year may have contributed to his nagging injuries last year, and maybe even the team's appalling record of 2-14.

The lack of conditioning could have led to many of the team's losses last year. The Chiefs had a lead in the fourth quarter in numerous games, only to fall apart and give up the lead late in the game.

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