Grigsby, a 2000 Canton graduate, became the most decorated football player in the history of Illinois State University.  He was a three-time national finalist for defensive player of the year at the NCAA Division I-AA level and was chosen in the 2005 NFL draft by the Chiefs.

On Oct. 16, Grigsby will be inducted into the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame.

The induction dinner July 31 caps a “Gathering of the Giants” day that includes a 9 a.m. golf outing at Wee-Ma-Tuk Hills Country Club in Cuba.

I know that Boomer is still very popular with Chiefs fans, so if anyone lives in Illinois you will have two chances to see him inducted into a hall of fame.

You can never have too many guys that are willing to run through a brick wall whenever asked, so hopefully Boomer can get a gig somewhere in the league.  At the very worst he should take his talents to the UFL and knock some people around there.

Brady’s season was ended on Sept. 7th when the helmet of Pollard smashed into his knee on New England’s 15th snap of last season.  Kansas City was blitzing, the hit appeared accidental and was not flagged by the officials.  Brady says he never felt any anger towards Pollard.

“It’s football.  There’s no way he owes me an explanation.”

Good for Brady.  It’s good to see he responded better than the league, which for some reason decided to implement the “Brady Rule”, in which “a defender on the ground who hasn’t been blocked or fouled directly into the quarterback from lunging or diving at the quarterback’s lower legs.”  It’s too bad Pollard was, in fact, partially blocked in Brady’s direction.  Brady could have easily been bitter towards Pollard, especially on the heels of the league playing Mommy for him.

Yesterday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones met with DE Greg Ellis.  Afterwards, Jones said the veteran would be traded or released and that it should happen in the next few days.  Bob Gretz thinks Ellis could end up in Kansas City.

As a vested veteran, Ellis doesn’t have to go through the waiver system so he will be able to decide where he will play in 2009.  That would probably be the best way for the Chiefs to pick him up, rather than through a trade.  Ellis is set to make $4.15 million this year in the final season of his contract.  That would not be a problem for the Chiefs to fit into their cap situation.  And with Dallas on the hook for $1.5 million of that total in guarantees.  The Chiefs could pick him up, Ellis could still get his $4.15 million and it would only cost $3 million.

I’m not sure the Chiefs need to add any more players along their defensive front, but even at the age of 33 Ellis almost had more sacks than the entire Kansas City defense last year (8 to 10).  I want to see Tyson Jackson, Glenn Dorsey and Alex Magee get as many snaps as possible coming off the end this season and having a guy like Ellis around would cut into that playing time.  Though after last year’s historically bad output, I can’t complain too much if they bring in a pure pass rusher like Ellis.

Former Chiefs LB/FB Boomer Grigsby is trying to make the Houston Texans roster as a backup to FB Vota Leach after being out of football for most of 2008.  Grigsby wants to make sure he’s not in that situation again.

“I wanted to come to a team (where) I had a legit opportunity to play.  Houston made it pretty clear to me that it’s been a system that’s kept two. … I hope I can make (Leach) better or compete with him. If I can get on the field, I’m going to get on the field, but it’s also no secret I thought that I’d make a roster covering kicks.”

Grigsby even told the people of Houston how his nickname came to be and stick.

“The day I was born, my grandma named me ‘Boomer’.  I came out wider than I was long, I think I was a little roly-poly-like, and she nicknamed me Boomer.  I think a lot of people grow out of their nickname. I grew more into it. Checks are signed with it, it’s on bank accounts; it’s become who I am, and it’s who I’ll always be. No one in my family has ever called me James.”

Last month when he signed I was just hopeful he would stick long enough to show Houston what he’s made of because once they see how hard he plays it will be tough to cut the guy.  Talk about a player that will run through a wall for the team on every single play.  I still contend Boomer would flourish under the Pioli/Haley regime and who knows, maybe he’ll end up back in Kansas City if things don’t work out with the Texans.

The Chiefs have a lot to fix in the kicking game. Their coverage teams have been nothing special. Opponents had the best average starting field position after a kickoff last year (31.9-yard line) than against any other NFL team.

The return game is where the Chiefs have truly been futile. Only five teams had a worse average than the Chiefs (21.5 yards) returning kickoffs. Just three were worse returning punts (6.5 yards).  In the past two years, the Chiefs tried various return candidates, including Eddie Drummond, B.J. Sams, Dantrelle Savage and Kevin Robinson, but none came close to giving the Chiefs what Hall once did.

Lawrence wasn’t known as a returner coming out of McNeese State, but that when he did return kicks he was successful including a 70 yarder for a touchdown the only time he touched a punt last season.  The more important thing for me is the focus on the rest of special teams.  Guys like Monty Beisel, Jon McGraw and the influx of athletic UDFAs should at the very least move the Chiefs from the bottom of the league to middle of the pack.  And the wild card is Ryan Succop.  He wasn’t accurate during his senior season at South Carolina, but that can be attributed to an injury that Succop was playing through.  Last weekend he talked about pulling his range out to 68 yards in practice, a crazy distance for almost all kickers.

The Chiefs defense ranked 31st last season and Scott Pioli looked to fix that by drafting two defensive lineman with their top two picks.  Unfortunately for Kansas City,  defensive linemen are notoriously slow starters in the NFL.

Rookie pass rushers usually lack the repertoire of moves they’ll eventually need to thrive in the NFL. Offensive coaches and players are adept at studying a rookie defensive lineman’s strengths and then devising schemes to neutralize them.

All of this promises a steep learning curve for the Chiefs’ top pick, defensive tackle Tyson Jackson though he appeared levelheaded about what to expect at this level.

“Once you get in the NFL, you can tell everything is faster. Guys are bigger and stronger, and they know technique. They’re able to get an advantage by (holding) some time.  At the same time, you’re a professional now. You have to get adjusted quick. I have to step up my game a whole lot more. I can’t continue playing the college game.”

The defense certainly can’t be any worse than it was last year, but at the same time I hope fans are more patient with Jackson than they were with Glenn Dorsey.  It’s rare, no matter where the player is drafted, to see a defensive lineman make an immediate impact and it would be unfair to expect a ton from Jackson as he comes into a bad defense transitioning to a new scheme.  Dorsey needs to show vast improvement this season even as he adjusts to a new position because the speed of the game won’t be a shock to his system the way it was last year.

Former Chiefs LB/FB Boomer Grigsby returned to the NFL yesterday after signing a contract with the Houston Texans.

Grigsby will be playing for his third team after being originally drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round in the 2005 NFL Draft.  He spent three seasons with the Chiefs and ranked third on the team in special teams tackles each season.  In 2008, Grigsby signed with the Miami Dolphins and won the starting job at fullback during the preseason, but was released after the first regular-season game.

The Texans will look to add Grigsby to a special teams unit that allowed 22.3 yards per return on kickoffs, which ranked 11th in the league.  Houston special teams coordinator Joe Marciano is happy to have Grigsby’s toughness on his squad.

“He’s a veteran special team guy, he’s had his bell rung a few times and he knows how to hit a guy. I’m excited about working with him and getting him into our system.”

It’s great to see Boomer back in the league.  I know he was nothing more than a special teams guy during his tenure here, but he was still one of my favorite guys on the team.  Oddly enough, he’s the type of player that would fit in perfectly with the improvements Todd Haley wants to bring to special teams.  Good luck, Boomer!