<table> </table> Herm Edwards has a favorite saying about rookies and other young players that he intends in a most positive way.</p><p>&#8220;They don&#8217;t know what they don&#8217;t know,&#8221; the Chiefs coach said. &#8220;You can tell them something and they&#8217;ll say, &#8216;OK, I guess that&#8217;s how it is.&#8217; You can influence young guys and be constructive about it, and you can&#8217;t always do that with veteran players.&#8221;</p><p>Going heavily with young players, as the Chiefs will do this season, has its drawbacks, too.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of these young guys, they&#8217;re going to get out of the preseason and be feeling pretty good about themselves,&#8221; said one of the few remaining veterans, cornerback Patrick Surtain. &#8220;Then, <em>bam,</em> it&#8217;s going to hit. We&#8217;re going to play New England in Foxborough. You need some veteran guys who know how to handle that kind of situation.&#8221;</p><p>The Chiefs have a handful of those players: Surtain, Tony Gonzalez, Brian Waters, Donnie Edwards, Damion McIntosh.</p><p>If their rebuilding program pays off and the Chiefs eventually make the playoffs, someone might even have to show the way to those veterans. Only Surtain among that group has ever played for a team that so much as won a playoff game, and even he might need a refresher course. His last playoff win came with Miami in 2000.</p><p>Damon Huard is the only Chief to have been part of a Super Bowl team. He was a backup quarterback for two of New England&#8217;s championship teams in this decade.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s important to have guys who have that kind of experience once you go to the playoffs,&#8221; said former Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese. &#8220;Things do change in January. If you think you&#8217;re going to win a playoff game by playing the way you played in week 10, you&#8217;re mistaken.</p><p>&#8220;For a coach to talk about it, that&#8217;s one thing. For a respected veteran player who has been there to talk about it, everybody&#8217;s ears perk up. They listen because it&#8217;s meaningful to them.&#8221;</p><p>The Chiefs, who lost their last nine games last season, aren&#8217;t necessarily in position to need proven winners just yet.</p><p>&#8220;You bring those guys in when you feel you&#8217;re ready to take the next step,&#8221; said former Cowboys personnel director Gil Brandt. &#8220;It&#8217;s important to have those guys who can show their rings. They help you when the playoffs come. You have to be conditioned for what&#8217;s going to happen, and guys who have been there before can help you do that.</p><p>&#8220;Until that happens, it&#8217;s not as important today to have veteran players as it was at one time. Players come in now from college a lot more advanced than they ever were. They have much better weight programs. Colleges just do a better job of developing players.</p><p>&#8220;The (off-season practices) are a big thing. In the old days, when rookies came to camp, that&#8217;s when they started in. Now, guys like (Glenn) Dorsey and (Branden) Albert have been practicing since May. They know a lot more about what they&#8217;re doing. Guys are more prepared. They&#8217;re ready to play sooner.&#8221;</p><p>Edwards indicated the Chiefs would attempt to add that kind of player when the time is right.</p><p>&#8220;Once you get your foundation, there are things you can&#8217;t get in the draft and that&#8217;s one of them,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s important to have some guys who have been in the league and know what it takes. You like guys that have been to the playoffs.&#8221;