ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- He's the first man in NFL history to rush for more than 1,100 yards in fewer than 200 carries and the first Kansas City Chief with four touchdown runs of 40 yards or more.
Jamaal Charles also is second-team.
So do the Chiefs have the deepest stable of quality running backs in the league? Not exactly, although newcomer Thomas Jones does have five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and a wonderful gift for leadership.
The Chiefs' apparent indecisiveness over how to play their pair of aces probably has more to do with strategy and secrecy than coaches' confusion. For his part, Charles is taking a wait-and-see approach, insisting he will be a good teammate and try to hit whatever pitch life throws.
"Whatever happens happens for a reason," Charles said. "I always believed in that. If it happens for a reason, I guess I've got to go with it. I can't do nothing about it."
Charles was left out of much of the offseason work because of the shoulder surgery he underwent after finishing last season with 2,342 combined net yards. He says he's 100 percent, and he looked that way last week in the first preseason game.
On a night in Atlanta in which most of Kansas City's offense appeared sluggish and out of sync, Charles rushed for 37 yards on just four carries. The 23-year-old Texan looked just as quick as last year, when world-class speed helped carry him to 1,120 rushing yards after trouble-making former Pro Bowl pick Larry Johnson was traded.
Possibly out of concern for Charles' shoulder, the Chiefs signed the highly respected Jones to a free-agent contract, importing an 11-year veteran with less speed but more experience and terrific leadership skills. Most days, Jones has been running with the first team.
"Thomas has the best locker-room presence I've ever seen in a player," backup running back Jackie Battle said.
Jones finished third in the NFL with 1,402 yards last season with the New York Jets, trailing only Chris Johnson and Steven Jackson.
So will Jones and Charles be a one-two punch? Or will one take over as undisputed No. 1 while the other sits on the bench?
Exactly what the Chiefs have in mind is something fans and onlookers have been puzzling over for months. As training camp progresses, the mystery seems only to deepen -- at least to everyone but Charles and Jones.
"They both understand what's going on," Haley said.
Haley and general manager Scott Pioli, constantly casting nervous glances for any eavesdropping rivals, are superb at holding their cards close to the vest.
"On good teams, players understand their role," Haley said. "That sounds simple, but a lot of times people don't understand their role. So part of our job as coaches, and that's in that mix, the communication that's going on is players understanding their role in the team."
So what is Charles' role?
"That's still to be determined," Haley said. "As is the case with the majority of the guys. That's what I mean by 'get it.' There are more and more guys who are starting to get it and understand what's going on and what we're trying to do."
With Jones and Charles, the Chiefs will go into the season with two running backs coming off 1,000-yard campaigns for the first time since Lamar Hunt founded the team in 1959.
"Jamaal is a developing player," Haley said. "Jamaal is a player that last year at times in that development had good days, bad days and in-between days -- like a lot of other guys. That is part of the development, and that's part of becoming a dependable player on a daily basis, and that's really what we're trying to get down with the entire unit. Be a dependable teammate, be a dependable player. It's not complicated. It's pretty simple. Being the same guy every day."
Apparently, Jones and Charles have developed a good working relationship. That would certainly fit with Jones' history; he hasn't yet been made available to the media.
"Me and Thomas are cool. I love the guy," Charles said. "I got to know him in a short period of time, and it's like a lifetime now."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
