Fortified Iron

My HoG colleagues mourned (and probably continue to) the difficult decision their Denver Broncos had to make last week in parting with one Al Wilson. While secretly sympathetic, rival fans relish the moments in which an adversary no longer employs a tenacious player whose presence on the field is always noted and respected. Though I've had some choice words for him in the past, Al Wilson did indeed play some tough defense. And yes, it was classy for him to take out a full-page ad thanking his Mile-High family. Today, 400 miles east of where Wilson made his home for the last eight years, another NFL family silently weeps. They are not tears of sorrow hastened by tragedy, but tears of both joy and shame.

Number 68 has hung up his cleats. The body of 12-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer Will Shields has taken all the beatings one offensive lineman can endure in a lifetime.

Back in the spring of 1993, when the Kansas City Chiefs spent their third-round pick on the former Cornhusker -- I would hope this guy considers Shields to be one of the exceptions -- I had, to that point in my life as a football fan, only paid attention to the high profile position players, the receivers, the running backs, the quarterbacks, the D players that get sacks and picks. And I certainly paid no attention to the draft. Hell, I was making my third attempt at graduating from high school (third time's the what?). Call me in January, I'd say, when we've compiled a 13-3 record, and home-field throughout. In retrospect, I say by call me I mean shoot me.

It was some time, though, before I recognized what Will Shields really meant to football. We all know that lineman are underappreciated. Good running backs these days do their damndest to give props to their line when they've been successful. That wasn't the case back then. Especially when the only English they mustered was for Swanson's Hungry Man pot pie commercials. Toward the end of the Regime, as it were, however, I began to notice #68 a lot. He was like that Christmas decoration that, year after year, even though your mom buys new ones and discards the really old ones, still makes its way to the tree. Near the end of Gunther's tenure, Shields stood out to everyone. The Dick Vermeil era made his presence obvious to even those that didn't follow Chiefs football.

As Herm entered the building, the guessing game was on. Who would go first? Willie or Will? We all know Big Willie did, and he sort of left everyone with their d---s in their hands. But you deal. And today, Mr. Shields, having posted 223 consecutive starts, logged 14 seasons with the best franchise in the nation, seen 10 left tackles come and go, and raised literally hundreds of thousands of dollars -- with the help of his beautiful wife and his Will to Succeed Foundation -- for battered women and children, bids Chiefs Nation adieu. For these reasons and more, they are tears of joy. For the fact that the Chiefs only came close to sniffing a championship once in Shields' 14 seasons, they are tears of shame.

Coach Vermeil told The Kansas City Star's Adam Teicher that there would never be another player, leader, or community member like Shields; he's literally impossible to replace. We all watched our Chiefs struggle to replace Roaf last year, and though I-65 was frequently an open straightaway to the QB, it eventually closed once they kept him at left tackle. Folks would say all the while that his natural position was guard. Well, he became a free agent, and he became a Texan. Now, the Chiefs need a guard. Badly. If Clark Hunt, Carl Peterson, and Herm Edwards truly have the will to succeed, they best nab one quick. Especially if they plan on starting this pup against Mr. Black's new team on September 9.

The new face of the Chiefs will no longer be one associated with the best O-line in football. But it will always remember the charisma, the contributions, and the career of Will Shields. Thank you, Will for being a bright example in every aspect of the game and of life. Your presence will be missed. Even my colleagues will acknowledge that.