***The Official Chiefs OTA's Thread***

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Might as well get this started since we are within a week of it beginning.


OTA offseason workouts: May 27-29, June 3-5, June 10-13
Mandatory minicamp: June 17-19


Feel free to post Chiefs camp updates here.

https://twitter.com/ChiefsCamp/lists/kcc

[planetdoc]

De’Anthony Thomas returns to Chiefs practice, takes the heat
by Tereza Paylor
(nothing really new or interesting)

[planetdoc]

RB De’Anthony Thomas looks forward to competing
By Herbie Teope
(highlights)

Minicamp participation

Tight end Travis Kelce (knee) and wide receiver Kyle Williams (knee) were on the field for a second straight day. They participated in the individual position drills, appearing to run without limitations, before going inside as part of their rehabilitation treatment.

Joining the trio was wide receiver Weston Dressler, who returned to individual position drills after missing the first day of minicamp with a hamstring injury.

Minicamp observations

• Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe made a full-extension leaping grab on a pass from quarterback Alex Smith during 11-on-11 drills. Bowe’s catch immediately drew a clearly audible “oohs” from his teammates on the sidelines.

• The Chiefs continue to shuffle the right side of the offensive line in one of the most fluid situations of the offseason. Rookie Zach Fulton saw time at right guard with the first-team offense during 11-on-11 drills for a second straight day. Obviously, that scenario is subject to change once the team reports to training camp. Rishaw Johnson also saw time at right guard on a rotating basis with Fulton.

• Another day and yet another attention-grabbing catch from tight end Demetrius Harris, who turned in a leaping catch from quarterback Tyler Bray. Free safety Sanders Commings was defending on the play.

• With Sean Smith absent with an illness, Marcus Cooper continued to fill in at right cornerback with the first team during 11-on-11. Ron Parker took Cooper’s spot at left cornerback, while Chris Owens defends the slot.

• Cornerback Ron Parker drew a flag from an official for pass interference on a play when he failed to turn his around to look for the football. He ran into wide receiver Donnie Avery during a pass from quarterback Alex Smith. Officials have been present during minicamp.

• Quarterback Tyler Bray had two memorable throws on Tuesday. The first went to tight end Demetrius Harris, and the other went to wide receiver Jerrell Jackson deep on the right sideline.

• Quarterback Chase Daniel threw a perfect deep pass during 9-on-7 drills when he found wide receiver Donnie Avery for a touchdown.

• Quarterback Aaron Murray continues to show confidence in his surgically repaired left knee. On one play during 11-on-11 drills and with the pocket collapsing, Murray tucked the ball and didn’t hesitate to take off down the right sideline.

• Quarterback Alex Smith found wide receiver Frankie Hammond deep during 11-on-11 drills for what would’ve been a touchdown in a real game. Hammond beat Marcus Cooper on the play.

• Free safety Sanders Coming intercepted an Alex Smith pass intended for Donnie Avery during 11-on-11 drills.

• Rookie outside linebacker Dee Ford ran with the first-team defense for a second straight day at Justin Houston’s spot.

[Dante84]

From the Chiefs Concerns FB page:

Day two Chiefs mandatory minicamp report... here we go.

Water up! That was yelled over and over again by the different Chiefs coaches.
Day one of minicamp was hot, but day two? It seemed even hotter! No joke. For these I need a hat (bald head), sunscreen, and lots of water... but definitely a hat!

But despite the heat, the players have practiced hard.

WR Weston Dressler was back, he looked good. Fast and running full go. The good thing is Dressler's back, doesn't seem to be hampered by the hamstring.

Speaking of the WR's, there's good plays happening, not by a couple, but several. Yep, early yet... helmet and shorts, but fast(er) comes to mind. Hopefully more YAC this season too.

Dwayne Bowe moving very well, said it already, but saying it again. Chiefs fans might be upset that Kansas City didn't draft a new WR, but they "might" have a "new" guy in Bowe... which might be like having a new WR. Just saying.

#17 Donnie Avery is wowing me, yeah, really. He's fast, looks like a different guy than last year. Focused and "fighting" with every catch. I don't remember Avery leaping like I'm seeing with these early practices. No contact helps, but Avery's been bold going after every ball.

Overall it feels like the WR's are making more athletic catches before training camp. Consistent has been Bowe, Avery, Hemingway, and #85 Frankie (not Reggie) Hammond. #8 Albert Wilson is another that has nice potential. Wilson's like rookie RB De'Anthony Thomas to me. Both are super quick and confident with the ball, both have the moves. I think #15 A.J. Jenkins is proving something out there, he looks fresh, like a different player than last season.

I see competition. Lots of speed with the WR's.

TEs, what can I say. I like the group, I like what the Chiefs have... a lot. I'm trying to keep the enthusiasm in check. I get what time of the offseason it is, but brother and sister Chiefs fans. Hey, I think watching what the Chiefs have they have an edge with their TE's.

#87 Travis Kelce was practicing like Tuesday, left early as part of his treatment to get iced, but Kelce is moving without a hitch. #84 Sean McGrath ended practice with a knee injury. #47 Demetrius Harris had a few drops Wednesday, think the heat got to a few players, but Harris always finds a way to pull off at least one WOW play. He had one. A leaping, Superman, soaring through the air to haul in the football from #9 Tyler Bray catch. Hat off to Bray for a nice throw too. Harris is far from a clunky TE, the guy plays like a large, large WR. Kudos to #80 Anthony Fasano too, he's been playing well and looks 100 percent healthy. I'm excited about this group because of coach Andy Reid's emphasis on TE's with his offense. McGrath was basically it last year, shouldn't be the story this season.

With #25 I just stand amazed. He's so good, makes it look easy. He's running on fire right now. Charles lining up quite a bit as an extra WR. Saw Charles taking the time to help show rookie De'Anthony Thomas something while waiting.

Thomas the last two days has been getting the full attention of RB coach Eric Bieniemy, coach has been on Thomas case.
Bieniemy yelling at his backs... "Details people! Give me a run!"

At QB I like how comfortable #11 Alex Smith looks already. Last season it was the learn to crawl before you walk thing, a lot of short throws... dinks and dunks. I can tell that Reid is having the offense do more now, longer throws. Smith is pulling off anything Reid wants. Smith's throws look smooth, in the right spot, and the long stuff doesn't bother Smith. He's able to do it all. Smith looks good.

#7 Aaron Murray has a place. If Murray keeps learning like he has that spot will be right behind Smith. He's a smart QB, saw him point to his WR where to be while on the move to pass the ball, which he did. The biggest compliment I can give Murray is Reid and the NFL don't seem to big for him. Murray has leadership written all over him.

Bray I like, he has his good moments, but not as into Bray as I am Murray. I just think it won't take the Chiefs as long to get Murray where he needs to be.

On the offensive line #79 Donald Stephenson had a calf injury, but over these two days of minicamp Stephenson has been either on the left or right side. #72 Eric Fisher is in, but Chiefs using him sparingly still before training camp. Stephenson is getting lots of reps, Chiefs will need Stephenson to step up. Rookie #73 G (6-5... 315 pounds, age 22) Zach Fulton getting work these past two days with the first-team offense.

At CB there was no #21 Sean Smith, yesterday he missed the Chiefs said due to illness. #31 Marcus Cooper and #38 Ron Parker getting all the work with the first-team defense. I don't know, really don't. Without Sean Smith and CB Brandon Flowers it's hard to tell what the Chiefs got in the secondary. Parker has made plays, so has Cooper, but have to admit the Chiefs CB's are still a mystery. At least to me.

I do know that today defensive coordinator Bob Sutton took a personal interest in this group, watched them close. Even unleashed some four-letter words of encouragement. Rookie #23 Phillip Gaines left the practice field under his own power with a left ankle injury.

I think at training camp when it can get more physical that more will unfold for the CB's.

Overall the "team speed" is obvious to me. Everyone is moving around with understanding and lack of hesitation. The only ones that might pause is the rookies, but that's the way it's supposed to be. Last season all were learning something new. Looks like a better "team" effort right now.

At the end of practice it had looked like the players had grabbed the Gatorade and dumped it over Reid's head. Coach was definitely sweating.
Thursday it is until training camp... getting close!
-Steve

[planetdoc]

Chiefs Wrap-Up Mini-Camp & Off-Season
by Bob Gretz

The New York Giants, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers all saw their head coach cancel the third practice of their mini-camps on Thursday.

No such luck for the Chiefs, although Andy Reid did shorten up the final practice of the off-season. It was held indoors because of the wet conditions on the practice fields and other than a lengthy session of the 7-on-7 passing drill, there was not a lot of offense vs. defense in the session.

However, like his head coaching compatriots with the Giants, Redskins and Chargers, Reid was pleased with the work his coaching staff and team got done since the end of March.

“We added a few things on both sides of the ball and on special teams and I thought they handled it well,” Reid said. “There was some recall from (last) season and with the new things, they took it all in and worked hard on it. That’s a good feeling that we were able to add to our packages. All and all it was a good offseason.”

It was certainly different than a year ago, when Reid was in his first Kansas City season after 14 years in Philadelphia. Last May and June “every day was a new day” according to the head coach. Much more work was accomplished in this year’s off-season program. All in all, the Chiefs had a three-day rookie mini-camp, 10 OTA practices and the three seasons in the mini-camp. With that on-field work came hours of meetings and time in the weight room and with physical conditioning.

Reid has decided it’s been enough, and Thursday was the final day for everyone in the building, coaches and players. NFL rules allow the rookies to spend another two weeks at the team’s facility, where they can work individually with coaches. But Andy says they’ve seen enough.

“There isn’t much more we can do with them; they got plenty of reps to function in training camp,” Reid said.

So the coach sent them on their way with three standard coaching messages: stay out of trouble, don’t eat too much and keep working out.

Notes from the final mini-camp practice:

– Thursday morning the Chiefs released defensive end Chas Alecxih. The first-year player out of the University of Pittsburgh did not appear to fit with what Reid and the defensive staff were trying to do with the defensive line. That dropped the roster to 88 players and more than likely telegraphed roster additions, possibly from among the four tryout players that were part of the mini-camp.

– For the last practice there were 82 players on the indoor field working with the coaching staff. Injuries sidelined running back Joe McKnight (knee), offensive tackle Donald Stephenson (calf), inside linebacker Ben Johnson (hamstring), cornerback Phillip Gaines (ankle) and cornerback Sean Smith (illness). None of those injuries or maladies was considered serious.

– Also not working in Thursday’s practice was outside linebacker Justin Houston, continuing his boycott of the off-season program, apparently in hopes of finalizing a more lucrative contract extension. Since he’s under contract for 2014, the Chiefs can fine Houston for missing the mandatory camp. Absence from the third practice is a potential fine of $34,730 and that would bring his total fine if the Chiefs decide to clip him for missing three days to $69,455.

– Even though Thursday’s practice was the shortest of the three mini-camp workouts, the Chiefs showed their readiness to do something other than the touch football they are forced to play under NFL labor rules. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was knocked down after catching a pass in the end zone and appeared to land on a knee. Bowe quickly bounced up, but showed a bit of a limp as he walked off the field.

[planetdoc]

Chiefs put minicamp in the books
by Herbie Teope
(highlights)

Minicamp observations

• Unlike past days where media observed virtually two-plus hours of 11-on-11 and 9-on-7 drills, Thursday’s media observation early. The portion observed was mostly stretching, individual position drills and a 9-on-7 segment.

• Prior to the start of practice, the Chiefs announced the release of defensive tackle Chas Alecxih. The Chiefs’ offseason roster currently sits at 88 players, two shy of the league maximum allowed of 90.

• Quarterback Alex Smith found wide receiver Dwayne Bowe along on the right corner of the end zone during goal line work. Looked like a miscommunication between the defensive backs.

• Kickers Ryan Succop and Cairo Santos took turns booming kicks from beyond 40 yards, moving back in 5-yard increments. A lot of kicks, especially from Santos, hit the wall, which is roughly an additional 10 yards from the back of the end zone.

• Wide receiver Kyle Williams extended and hauled in a pass with his fingertips in stride during goal line work.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Later, Succop.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by 505 Chief

Later, Succop.

Reid won't roll with a rookie kicker.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by planetdoc

RB De’Anthony Thomas looks forward to competing

• Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe made a full-extension leaping grab on a pass from quarterback Alex Smith during 11-on-11 drills. Bowe’s catch immediately drew a clearly audible “oohs” from his teammates on the sidelines.

• Quarterback Tyler Bray had two memorable throws on Tuesday. The first went to tight end Demetrius Harris, and the other went to wide receiver Jerrell Jackson deep on the right sideline.

• Free safety Sanders Coming intercepted an Alex Smith pass intended for Donnie Avery during 11-on-11 drills.

Read earlier today on Shutdown Corner that Bowe has worked with a nutritionist and trainer this offseason for the first time in his career, oh yeah, go get'em Dwayne, love to hear that, expecting big things from that guy... #1 star things.

Bray... dude has wowed throughout OTA's, no its no guarantee... but it IS a good sign of progress/fingers crossed.

Commings... this guys a darkhorse for most improved player I'd bet, he has the size and speed to make a real difference.

**** Walter, its not all bad over here.

[planetdoc]

Originally Posted by scott free

Bray... dude has wowed throughout OTA's, no its no guarantee... but it IS a good sign of progress/fingers crossed.

as in wow what a great throw vs wow what an awful throw.

He has no consistency with his accuracy. He is essentially a less fragile brodie croyle. I think Murray is going to leap frog him, and possibly even Chase Daniel.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by planetdoc

as in wow what a great throw vs wow what an awful throw.

He has no consistency with his accuracy. He is essentially a less fragile brodie croyle. I think Murray is going to leap frog him, and possibly even Chase Daniel.

Brett Favre says what's up?

[planetdoc]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Brett Favre says what's up?

thats his ceiling. That being said, Favre was a 62% career passer. not bad.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by planetdoc

thats his ceiling. That being said, Favre was a 62% career passer. not bad.

led the league in INTs during his 2nd year as a starter, and all-time leader in that area too. You take the good with the bad with such gunslingers.

A Brett Favre ceiling? **** yeah, I'd take that in a New York minute.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by planetdoc

as in wow what a great throw vs wow what an awful throw.

He has no consistency with his accuracy. He is essentially a less fragile brodie croyle. I think Murray is going to leap frog him, and possibly even Chase Daniel.

Have you been watching OTAs? If you have, then I apologize for asking. If you have not, then how can you speak about his accuracy in the present tense?

[OldSchool]

Favre's problems had more to do with decision making than anything to do with his accuracy. He trusted his arm too much at times, thus the record INTs thrown in a career.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Favre's problems had more to do with decision making than anything to do with his accuracy. He trusted his arm too much at times, thus the record INTs thrown in a career.

He had some real errant passes in the beginning of his career, and was a big reason he was an ironman at the position because he had Brunell breathing down his neck waiting to take his job if he got injured.

You always heard that Favre was "pumped with adrenaline", or "needs to calm down" during that period too.