Romeo Crennel has had it with turnovers.
The Kansas City Chiefs coach has seen his team commit 29 turnovers in half a season. The next closest team in the NFL is Dallas with 19. Kansas City committed 28 turnovers all of last season.
Crennel told reporters Friday he has threatened his players with the loss of playing time if they fumble or throw a bad interception. Crennel said if he deems the turnovers inexcusable, players will stand next to him or on the bench for some plays.
“Sometimes [to emphasize corrections] you basically have to threaten them -- so if you fumble it I’m going to take you out of the game,” Crennel said. “Then they will get the message.”
Chiefs offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is behind Crennel’s tough-consequences approach.
“I think [Crennel] has addressed the team, he continues to address the team in terms of the importance of turnovers,” Daboll told reporters Friday. “We all know what it is and haven’t done a good enough job with it. He told those guys that if they put it on the ground that maybe they should come over and stand with him for a little bit. He’s their head coach and I support him and we’ve got to do a good job of protecting the football.”
Starter Brady Quinn has not been cleared from suffering a concussion in Week 8. So it may be difficult for Crennel to sit quarterback Matt Cassel -- who has turned the ball over more than most NFL teams this season -- if he throws a bad interception Monday night at Pittsburgh. Crennel has indicated third-string quarterback Ricky Stanzi is not ready to play yet.
Meanwhile, new Kansas City defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs said new starting right cornerback Javier Arenas will be the nickel corner and Jalil Brown will play right cornerback in a nickel package. Arenas takes over as the starter for Stanford Routt, who was cut on Monday.
