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Friday, August 6, 2004

Hall says 2003 repeat tough


'I'm a target,' says the Chiefs' special team speedster

By Doug Tucker
The Associated Press

RIVER FALLS, Wis. - Not even his Kansas City teammates are safe from Dante Hall's slick moves.

Consider the case of R-Kal Truluck. The big defensive end had been standing in line for more than 20 minutes, waiting to have his picture taken for Monday Night Football. The door to the film room swung open, and Truluck started through.

But from behind came the electrifying kick returner, distracting his attention and slipping silently past.

Before Truluck knew what happened, a grinning Hall was sitting in front of the cameras, waving at him.

Everyone laughed and nobody got angry, not even Truluck. It's hard to get mad at the fun-loving, 5-foot-8 Texan who remains the same humble, playful soul he was before he emerged last season as a star.

"He's a complete delight as a person," said special teams coach Frank Gansz Jr. "You talk about a kid who'll do anything for you, who's fun to coach."

Said a smiling Truluck: "He's real swift, real cunning and real low to the ground. I didn't see him slide past, he's so fast."

Plenty saw Hall last season as he set an NFL record with touchdown returns in four straight games and just missed adding a record-setting fifth regular-season TD return on more than one occasion.

Although it didn't count for the regular-season record, he did get No. 5 against Indianapolis in the playoffs with a dancing, dashing 92-yard beauty.

Hall is continuing to work out at wide receiver at training camp.

Counting pass receptions, his 11 career regular-season touchdowns have spanned an average distance of 79.8 yards. No one with at least 10 touchdowns has a longer average.

"Now people are making adjustments," he said. "I'm a target. I'm a bull's-eye. So it's going to be a little tougher this year. When the opportunity was there to get six or seven (touchdown returns), we should have gotten six or seven and shattered the record. This gives us something to aim for this year."

He's still upset for not getting another TD return last season. On one occasion, he let the punter get him on a last-chance, desperation swipe of his hand. Another time, a teammate missed what should have been an easy block on the only remaining tackler.

"How many chances are you going to get?" Hall said. "That's what bothered me. I might never be that close again."

Without question, before the games have even started, there is at least one defensive player with Hall in his head.

"I can't tell you what I've got planned," Truluck said. "I've got to get him back real sly, real slick. When I do it, everybody's going to know."

RETURNS OF DANTE HALL

KICK RETURNS

YearTeamGNoYardsAvgLgTD40+
2003 Chiefs16571,47825.910029
4-YEAR TOTAL501744,15923.9100317
PUNT RETURNS

YearTeamGNoFCYardsAvgLgTD20+
2003Chiefs16291447216.39328
4-YEAR TOTAL5096361,13411.893413




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Bengals' Ratliff raring to go
Abdullah out: Ross in?
Meet the Bengals: Victor Leyva
Lewis sets scrimmage guidelines
Hall says 2003 repeat tough
3-time Pro Bowler Stubblefield added to Patriots' veteran mix
Fantasy football insider
Cowboys' Testaverde hoping to go the distance

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