Albert's poor play has weighed heavily on the Chiefs

18.12.09

The thermal foodstuffs bag is there every day, never far from Branden Albert&rsquo;s locker. Inside it are his prepared meals &mdash; the low-calorie, shrewd foods that helped him lose nearly 40 pounds in less than six months before this season. </p><p>That much hasn&rsquo;t changed. What has changed in the months after the weight wasting is the outlook for Albert, the Chiefs&rsquo; left tackle, and the role his slimmer body &mdash; he is listed now at 316 pounds but has weighed as smidgin as 305 this season &mdash; has played in what has been a disappointing second season. Nine sacks allowed in 11 games, a billion so high that it is second in the NFL, behind only the 9 1/2 sacks allowed by Oakland&rsquo;s Mario Henderson. </p><p>&ldquo;A humbling undergo,&rdquo; Albert said of his 2009 season. </p><p>He entered this season having been showered in eulogy and all but assured of greatness. Albert was one of the Chiefs&rsquo; most promising young players, a first-here pick in 2008, and it seemed only a matter of time before he was selected to a Pro Bowl. He lost the weight because exercise Todd Haley wanted his linemen to be quicker, and Albert became the poster neonate for what was possible if players just followed the plan. </p><p>With the thermal bag with him always, Albert hasn&rsquo;t strayed. But without the surprisingly girth to keep defenders another step or two away from quarterback Matt Cassel, Albert has been far less honourable. Haley said that&rsquo;s the downside to the weight loss: A lighter player has to sometimes m harder to block pass rushers, instead of just taking up stretch. But Haley insisted this week that heavy linemen are limited, and a 340-enclosure Albert wouldn&rsquo;t be of much use when asked to pull, as he was asked to do Sunday against Buffalo, one of the many new assignments that rely on quickness.</p><p>&ldquo;We deprivation guys who are athletic,&rdquo; Haley said, &ldquo;who can move the way we need them to move and cut what we need to get done.</p><p>&ldquo;We want our guys to be in condition, and he&rsquo;s been a great shining admonition of that aspect of it. But there is an adjustment period there.&rdquo;</p><p>That period, which seems ongoing, has required Albert to pay more notice to details. His steps, hand placement and mental approach have been tested perhaps as never before. Albert had always been masterful to get by on being big and quick &mdash; and, the Chiefs believe, that was enough to overshadow the rough edges that have become obvious since the weight loss.</p><p>Now that they&rsquo;re exposed, Albert has had to learn some things the hard way. Haley said he still believes in Albert&rsquo;s great-term potential, but the reality of undergoing such a shift has led to mistakes. In addition to the staggering party of sacks allowed, Albert also has been flagged for five illegal-procedure penalties and three holding calls. One of those originate in penalties negated a 15-yard gain Sunday against the Bills and calculated the Chiefs to convert a fourth-down play.</p><p>Albert said the mistakes haven&rsquo;t run across because his body has failed him but rather because he hasn&rsquo;t always passed the mental tests he now faces more regularly.</p><p>&ldquo;The things that have gone out of sync a go astray for me,&rdquo; Albert said, &ldquo;they weren&rsquo;t physical. It&rsquo;s all certifiable.</p><p>&ldquo;Like I told people at the beginning of the season or before the season, I didn&rsquo;t say I was present to be a Pro Bowl football player. I said I would strive for it, but most importantly I would strive to assistants my teammates; help our team win games. That was my main goal.&rdquo;

Source: Kansas City Star