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Only two NFL franchises had more wins in the 1990s, but a new decade has brought nothing but a deep sense of loss

By Josh Elliott

The death of Thomas was especially jolting to Edwards (59), who credits his close friend for his own rise to stardom. Brian Bahr/Allsport The Book An opposing team's scout sizes up the Chiefs "This team relies on its defense to make plays and create turnovers. James Hasty and Cris Dishman had 12 of the team's 25 interceptions last year, but is it possible that two 35-year-olds can repeat that type of production? Whoever wins the third cornerback job is key, because at least one of the starters will probably end up getting hurt.... Lew Bush can play Derrick Thomas's role on two of the downs, but who will impact the pass rush on third down? Duane Clemons is coming off his best year, but five of his nine sacks for the Vikings came on turf, and now he's playing on grass.... Everyone wants the Chiefs to find another running back, but last year they finished fourth in the league in rushing yards per game [130.1].... Their special teams are shaky. Pete Stoyanovich had one of his worst seasons last year, missing half his kicks from 40 yards. Losing Tamarick Vanover hurts their punt-return game, which was good; their kickoff-return game was lousy. Todd Sauerbrun should help their punting and give them deeper kickoffs." Player to Watch Forgive Mike Cloud if he doesn't share the disappointment of Chiefs' fans at the team's failure to trade for disgruntled Bengals running back Corey Dillon. After a standout training camp, Cloud, an unheralded second-round draft pick out of Boston College a year ago, will likely begin the season as the starting halfback. Given the team's past reliance on a committee of runners, Cloud should be proud -- especially after rushing for just 128 yards on 35 carries as a little-used rookie last season. In camp, though, the 5'10", 206-pound Cloud flashed his deceptive power and speed often enough to wow the coaching staff. Says coach Gunther Cunningham, "He's quick, he earns every yard he gains, and he's fearless."

Never before had he so craved solitude, and so it was that one afternoon last February, Donnie Edwards found himself sitting alone on a bridge in Stockholm, bundled against the bitter cold. Traveling with a college friend through Sweden and Norway -- a trip originally intended to sate the cerebral linebacker's love of Viking lore -- Edwards now wanted little to do with people, and nothing to do with history. Which, given the excruciating month he had endured, was understandable.

Just three days before, Edwards had buried his good friend and teammate Derrick Thomas, who died of cardiac arrest two weeks after a Jan. 23 car crash that left him paralyzed (and killed Thomas's friend Mike Tellis). While the events struck Kansas City with gale force, few were hit harder than Edwards. At UCLA he often spoke of Thomas as his idol, and he had spent his first four years in the NFL shadowing the nine-time Pro Bowl linebacker. Now, his teacher and friend gone, Edwards was nearly inconsolable. "I needed to get some perspective back," he says, "to get clear on life."

Coach Gunther Cunningham, for one, is glad Edwards took that trip. "Losing Derrick was so tough on Donnie, I wasn't sure how he would recover," Cunningham says. "I remember he didn't want to go into the tent [where Thomas's casket lay in state in Arrowhead Stadium shortly before the funeral]. But my wife and I held his hands, and once Donnie went in, he didn't want to leave. That was big for him. He was already a great player -- name me a better all-around linebacker. He just had to mourn Derrick in his own way, and it's made him stronger."

Edwards now stands as Kansas City's future, its new defensive standard-bearer. He has certainly earned such status, with two consecutive seasons of 120-plus tackles as a starter, culminating in a breakthrough 1999 season in which he was the Chiefs' best defender. In his first year at outside linebacker, the undersized (6'2", 228 pounds) but exceptionally fast and hard-hitting Edwards had 123 tackles and five interceptions, and scored two defensive touchdowns. He was rarely asked to rush the passer, however, and finished with just three sacks; because of this, he believes, he was snubbed by Pro Bowl voters. "It's the story of my life," Edwards says. "I've never had a true position, because of my size and speed. But I've always wanted to be a complete linebacker, to do everything well. When I didn't make the Pro Bowl, I let it affect me. I wallowed. It tore me up."

The stunning end to the Chiefs' season (needing a win at home over the Raiders to make the playoffs, Kansas City squandered a 17-point lead and lost 41-38 in overtime) compounded Edwards's disappointment, which turned to utter despair after Thomas's tragedy. But overseas, Edwards says, "things started to clear. When I got home, I realized I'd begun to put everything away. I was able to breathe again. So what if I didn't make the Pro Bowl? Things like that couldn't matter so much anymore. I'd found peace."

Such serenity reigned at training camp in River Falls, Wis., where end Duane Clemons, who last year had nine sacks for the Vikings, and linebacker Lew Bush, a run-stopping force from the Chargers, were trying to compensate for Thomas's absence. "There's a lot of good feeling on this defense," Clemons says. "We're sort of a mercenary unit, but we've come together well, and that all stems from Gun."

Indeed, Cunningham is a different coach in his second year -- looser and more willing to experiment. Case in point: On offense, he will team rookie wideout Sylvester Morris with Derrick Alexander and Kevin Lockett in several three-receiver sets. While a banged-up line is a concern, Cunningham's belief in his team is steadfast. "Derrick's death has made me look at everything differently," he says. "I wanted this team to channel all of the chaos in a positive way."

At the end of an evening workout in the second week of camp -- after the defense had stuffed the offense nine of 12 times in the goal line drill that traditionally ends practice -- an emotional Cunningham gathered the team in the practice field's south end zone. As a hush fell over the few thousand fans looking on, Cunningham told his players how the drill's result reminded him of a similar performance in that same end zone in 1995, one that starred an unstoppable Derrick Thomas and that Cunningham believes jump-started the Chiefs' 13-3 regular season that year.

While painfully recounting his speech later that evening, Cunningham bridged his team's past and future once again. "It was tough for me, but I told them, 'I know we'll have a great year, because Derrick would expect nothing less from us,'" said Cunningham, his eyes moist and his jaw trembling. "And when I looked around -- looked at the faces of guys like Donnie Edwards -- I could see they knew it, too."

How Dr. Z Ranks 'Em: 18

Issue date: August 28, 2000

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