‘Lumpy’ gets over hump

“Hello again Chiefs fans. I am so happy to be writing to you today because it means I have survived the cuts and will be sticking around for at least another week.”

– Sept. 5 entry, Michael Allan’s rookie blog

NFL teams put players through countless training-camp drills, lock them up in the weight room and supply them with a thick playbook.

But there is no way to prepare a player for the 24 to 48 hours leading up to the final cuts.

“Nerve-wracking,” said Michael Allan, the former Whitworth Pirate who learned last week that he had made the Kansas City Chiefs’ roster. “I tried to relax and just go out and play because that’s really all we have control over, but the last couple of nights I don’t think many people slept. You can really see the unfair side of the business because a lot of good players got cut and it just makes me feel fortunate that I’m still here.”

It can be an awkward situation. Players on the bubble wait around, hoping they don’t get a visit from the Grim Reaper – the nickname for the person who taps them on the shoulder and tells them management wants to see them. In Allan’s case, he felt a bit of security being a seventh-round draft pick, but he also knew there were three experienced tight ends in camp, including projected future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez and eight-year Chief Jason Dunn, as well as Kris Wilson, who can play fullback or tight end.

“They don’t tell you if you made it. They tell you if you didn’t,” said Allan, who becomes the first Pirate on an NFL regular-season roster since Doug Long played for Seattle in 1977-78. “A couple of guys went to work out thinking they were okay and they went in there and got them.”

Allan’s reaction was one of tremendous satisfaction – with a sobering realization.

“Just relief, like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders,” he said. “But then I realized quickly that you’re still being judged every day. They’re constantly evaluating, cutting guys, bringing guys in and you realize that you still have to go out and work your butt off.”

Still, Allan has good reason to enjoy the moment. He accomplished a life-long dream, made a phone call to his parents to tell them he was a Chief – “A special moment,” Allan said – and he can begin repaying some of the student loans he accrued at Whitworth.

He also gets to keep blogging. At the request of the Chiefs, Allan started a rookie blog early in training camp. He has mixed humor with insight in his four entries, which have become popular with Chiefs Web site visitors. In one post he discussed the differences, on field and off, between Whitworth, where he wore the same pair of shoes for two seasons, and Kansas City, which handed him every type of clothing and equipment imaginable.

Blogged Allan: “We then hopped on a charter plane that rivaled the dormitories I lived in for 2 years at Whitworth. This thing was huge, not to mention we had our own gate and security took at most 2 minutes to get through. … At the D-3 level we never expected to receive such treatment and while the NFL is a completely different level, I saw no surprise in the faces of those who came from Division I schools. Chartered flights, full meals, free gear and top-notch facilities were just something that they always had.”

Allan is one of two D-3 products to make a roster this year, bumping the total number of D-3 grads playing in the NFL to eight.

“I felt that I’ve had to (prove myself) since the (East-West) Shrine game because nobody really gave me credit,” he said. “Well, a few people did, but overall they looked at me as a D-3 kid. That was a driving force for me to get out and show what I could do and prove I belong here.”

To some degree, he figured he’d arrived when Chiefs coach Herman Edwards gave him a nickname – ‘Lumpy,’ after the character on “Leave It to Beaver.”

“He’s never actually called me that, but I guess in one of his press conferences they asked about me and he said I looked like ‘Lumpy,’ ” Allan said. “The only thing I can say about it is I see it as a good sign that the coach is thinking about me enough to give me a nickname.”

Allan stays in touch with numerous Whitworth coaches and players. His cell phone was jammed with voice and text messages when he made the Chiefs’ roster. At least 10 current Pirates listed Allan as the athlete they admire in their media guide bios.

“I’m honored,” said Allan, who hopes to catch a Whitworth game during the Chiefs’ bye week in October. “I love those guys and had so much fun playing there. I wish those guys all the best.”