By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Apr. 27 2007
After Kansas City floated his name this spring as possible trade fodder, Dante
Hall was dismayed that Green Bay and Buffalo showed heavy interest. Bitter-cold
weather and speed-sapping grass give him the shivers.
"I was a little bit worried, I have to admit," Hall said. "When I found out it
was St. Louis, I was happy for a lot of reasons."
Topping that list was the fact that the Rams play their home games in a dome
and on an artificial surface. All the better, he feels, to exploit his speed
and quickness as a kick- and punt-return specialist.
"It's hard when you're playing in 20-degree weather," Hall said. "You might sit
on the sideline for a quarter (before getting into the game), and I don't care
how fast you are, you're not going to be at your best playing in those kind of
conditions."
To acquire Hall, the Rams sent a fifth-round pick in this weekend's draft to
the Chiefs, plus the teams swapped third-round positions. Hall, 28, passed his
physical exam Thursday at Rams Park.
"It's an area of need that we really felt we had to address," coach Scott
Linehan said. "One way of guaranteeing that that need gets fulfilled is to do
it via trade, which we were able to do with what is arguably one of the best
ever at the position."
In seven seasons with the Chiefs, Hall took 11 returns six kickoffs and five
punts to the end zone. That ranks him No. 3 on the NFL career list, behind
retirees Brian Mitchell (13) and Eric Metcalf (12).
Hall's victims included the Rams: In December 2002, Hall scored twice, on an
88-yard kickoff return and an 86-yard punt return, as the Chiefs cruised to a
49-10 triumph.
Despite decreased production the past couple of years, Hall said he believes
that he can recapture his sizzle with the Rams.
"There's no athlete, I don't care how great he is, he's going to have a year or
two that aren't as good as your best years," he said. "The key is, how do you
bounce back from that? I felt like a fresh start would help, coming to a new
system, a new environment."
The 5-foot-8, 187-pound Hall, a former tailback at Texas A&M, caught 145 passes
for Kansas City. He figures to get limited work on offense with the Rams, who
also have veterans Isaac Bruce,
Torry Holt, Drew Bennett and
Dane Looker on the
roster.
Linehan theorized that concentrating almost solely on returns would benefit
Hall, who agreed ... to a point.
"It's a fine line," Hall said. "A heavy workload can be detrimental to my
return game, as it was in '04, when I had to be a starter for (six) games and
take a lot of reps during practice.
"If I can just find that nice mixture, where I get sprinkled in for 10, 15
plays or so on offense ... it keeps me loose, lathered up, and when it comes
time to perform what I do best, then I'm into the flow of the game."
GO RAMS 
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