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Published: August 19, 2008

OSU's Savage impresses Chiefs' coach Edwards

The odds were long entering training camp that Dantrell Savage would make Kansas City's roster when the season opened. But he has picked up a big fan in coach Herm Edwards.

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Savage rushed for 2,092 yards, averaging 6 yards a carry, in two years at Oklahoma State, but he was passed over in the NFL Draft. The Chiefs signed him out of a tryout camp, and in the first two preseason games he has opened some eyes.

"He's like a bowling ball with butcher knives on him,” Edwards said Monday. "It's hard to tackle the guy. He's not the biggest guy. He's probably not the fastest guy. That's probably why he wasn't drafted, but then you look what he accomplished (at OSU).

"He doesn't go down on the first hit. If you think you can just hit him with your shoulders and don't wrap him up, you've got problems. He's going to make yards. He's got a very strong base. He's got powerful legs.”

When Savage returned a kickoff 45 yards on Saturday night, Edwards congratulated him on the sidelines.

"I said, ‘That's what I like,' ” Edwards said. " ‘You just keep running like that. You keep doing that.' ”

The words "meant a lot” to Savage. "I'm a little bit closer to making this team,” he said.

If Savage is to make the roster, he'll have to prove he is worthy of returning kickoffs and punts. He ran back two punts for 18 yards in the 27-17 loss to the Cardinals.

"We challenged him two weeks ago,” Edwards said. "I said, ‘I want you to catch punts every day after practice 'cause I want to get you in a game and see how you react.' To his credit before the game, they took the JUGS machine out there because he's never really caught balls under the lights. He wanted to be prepared, and he did a good job.”

Will Edwards feel comfortable with Savage fielding punts in the regular season? "That's what we're going to find out,” the coach said.

"It's a whole lot different than catching a kickoff,” Savage said. "I have to adapt if I want to make the team.”

The 5-foot-8, 182-pound Savage relishes his long shot role. " It motivates me to play harder and dig deep.”

•Around the league: Domenik Hixon caught 11- and 24-yard TD passes from Eli Manning in the first quarter of the Giants' 37-34 win over the Browns. Cleveland QB Derek Anderson suffered a possible concussion, and safety Brodney Pool, a former Oklahoma Sooner, was being evaluated for a concussion. ... Kyle Orton, not Rex Grossman, will be the Bears' starting QB job on opening day . ... Ada's Jeremy Shockey appears ready for his first appearance in a Saints uniform Saturday at Cincinnati.

By The Associated Press