Game-day notebook: Chiefs accuse Texans of ball doctoring
Oct. 5, 2003
By Jay Glazer
SportsLine.com Senior Writer

The Kansas City Chiefs possess the most feared return threat in the
NFL in the explosive Dante Hall. They believe teams are so afraid to put
the ball in his hands, they are willing to do just about anything,
including illegally doctoring the ball.

Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil told The NFL Today and SportsLine.com,
through a team spokesman, he has accused the Houston Texans of forging or
doctoring the special "K" ball teams use for kicks.

The NFL uses special balls labeled with a "K," along with other marks to
denote these balls be utilized for kicking. The Chiefs allege the Texans
beat up a ball to soften it and then added a K stamp to it to make it
look regulation.

"We noticed there was something different about it, and we brought it to
the game officials at the half," Vermeil said.

In the past, kickers put balls in dryers, scraped them across cement, put
them in a sauna and performed other assorted tasks in order to soften the
ball. The K-ball rule prevents this from happening and leads to fewer
touchbacks.

According to Vermeil, after his players noticed the Texans were not using
what they believed was a legal ball, the coach took a ball to the game
crew. Vermeil was so baffled the Texans would allegedly use such a ploy,
he phoned the league office the following morning to file a complaint.

"I don't know anything about that," Texans GM Charlie Casserly said. "I
didn't hear any accusations during the game. None of our coaches
mentioned anything after the game."

According to team sources, the Chiefs became suspicious when they saw a
Texans ball boy sprint around the field to ensure he, and only he,
retrieved the ball in question. Chiefs players said they began to watch
the ball boy to figure out the mystery.

According to Chiefs coaches, Hall eventually grabbed one of the balls
and, believing it to be doctored, brought it to the sideline for a second
opinion. Enter Morten Anderson, a man who knows a thing or two about
proper kicking balls, and the art of altering balls. Anderson immediately
coined it a forgery and brought it to the coach.

"We believe that somebody from the Houston equipment department went
ahead, got two balls, fabricated the stamp and put them in the sack,"
said one Chiefs official who requested anonymity and added he was miffed
no action was being taken by the league. "They doctor the ball to soften
it, which allows them to kick it further, which they would do to keep the
ball from being returned.

"When you looked at the ball, it was obvious that something had been done
to it. Nobody is supposed to touch those balls before a game."

After Vermeil talked with head of officiating Mike Pereira, the issue was
looked into, but there was no evidence of any wrongdoing. In order to
indict a team of such a serious accusation, the league would need the
actual ball.

"I spoke to our equipment guys, and we did nothing wrong," Casserly said.
"There is no basis for that. I will handle this with the league and Coach
Vermeil."

The accusation was the talk of the Chiefs locker room late this week, and
some joked teams will do just about anything now to play keep away from
Hall.

By the way, Hall returned a kick for a touchdown in the game against the
Texans.

--
"Everybody knows who Priest Holmes is and what he's capable of doing. I
mean, the guy runs like a deer. He's hopping over guys...he kind of
runs with a spring about him and he plays with a swagger. He's probably
the best running back in the NFL and he knows it." - Plaxico Burress

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