Direckshun
08-06-2007, 11:59 AM
Still waiting on pictures, but UW-RF has an update of the morning session:
Monday, Aug. 6, 2007: Morning
A heavy fog lifted just before this morning’s practice, leaving the air heavy with humidity at 85 percent. Cloudy skies kept the temperature down at 73 degrees, with an almost-nonexistent wind from the east at 3 miles per hour. The dew point was at 68. Some 105 fans eagerly watched practice from three sides of the practice fields at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Special Update
This morning was the first day in River Falls for Chiefs first round draft pick wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Bowe has reportedly agreed to terms, but not officially signed. He spoke to media at the podium after practice. Bowe was asked if he was upset he was that he was not signed earlier. Bowe replied, “At first I was upset, but I understand it is a business and you've got to make business decisions. My guy [Bowe’s agent] handled it well.” When asked about being in shape and ready to practice, Bowe said, “I don’t think I’m ready right now. These guys have a lot of days under their belts. In three or four days I should be ready to roll.” The media also questioned Bowe on a potential starting role with the Chiefs. “I don’t know right now; those guys have been getting reps and learning the offense, but once I get in and learn the offense I could get a spot,” said Bowe.
Offense
It was cloudy and the tempo of fans and personnel were sluggish, but that did not stop the offense from chugging along during practice.
Running back Priest Holmes took part in strength and conditioning drills this morning lead by Strength and Conditioning Coach Cedric Smith. Holmes was joined by fullback Greg Hanoian and tight end Jason Dunn as the trio engaged in 30-yard sprints, grapevines, high-knee skips, and other exercises. “Butt kicks, ready? Go!” commanded Smith, hitting the ‘start’ button on his stopwatch. “A little more, a little more!” Holmes surprised many fans at the end of practice by donning pads and a helmet for the first time during this year’s training camp under the supervision of Smith. Working the field with Dunn and quarterback Jeff Terrell, Holmes practiced running the ball while taking light, padded blocks from Smith.
The rest of the Chiefs started with position-specific drills. The offensive line used a two-man sled. One player drove the sled forward, and then broke to the side to hit another player holding a blocking pad. “Set. Yellow four, yellow four,” cued the lineman to get into position as an assistant coach yelled, “Drive, drive, drive; Break!” Quarterbacks started with footwork and did crossovers on foot-high barriers. Fullbacks, running backs and tight ends took pitches for a short run up the sideline. Receivers ran the cone for a curl to the sideline and caught a five-yard pass from an assistant coach.
Next, quarterbacks Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard and Casey Printers joined receivers to give 20-yard passes. Receivers worked on change of speed and direction, as well as breaking in and out off the middle. Quarterback Jeff Terrell gave hand-offs and outlets to ball carriers. The line went up against four players with blocking pads to work on blocking for the pass. After that all positions, with the exception of guards and centers, joined together for a drill that focused on running schemes and patterns against four defensemen with blocking pads. The drill ran at half speed, and there were no tackles. Quarterbacks Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard each led more than five of reps.
One session of 11-on-11 finished the practice. The players were in spiders; the rush was not full-blown and there were no hits. The drill started from the plus-28 yardline. Quarterback Brodie Croyle led the first unit. On the line were Damion McIntosh at left tackle, Brian Waters at left guard, Casey Wiegmann at center, Will Svitek at right guard and Kevin Sampson at right tackle. Running backs Michael Bennett and Kolby Smith, wide receivers Samie Parker and Eddie Kennison, tight end Keith Willis made appearances with the first unit. Croyle got in 23 reps and was 13-18 in passing. Cornerback Patrick Surtain tipped a pass that Croyle had intended for wide receiver Jeff Webb. Webb slashed from the left side of the field to the middle and could not keep Surtain from the 7-yard pass. Linebacker Derrick Johnson also got his hand on one of Croyle’s passes. He knocked down a left outlet pass en route to tight end Kris Wilson. Croyle dished a pass through a gap in the middle to Bennett who snuck through a group of defenders. Croyle also had a rocket 8-yard pass to the middle to wide receiver Samie Parker that Croyle guided through three defenders.
Quarterback Damon Huard came out with the second unit for 23 snaps. He threw the ball 16 times with five incompletes. He threw one pass into the grass without a receiver around; there seemed to have been miscommunication between him and his receiver. Later on, Huard would team up with wide receiver Ean Randolph for a spectular touchdown play. Huard gave Randolph a 20-plus yard pass to the right side after Randolph made a nice split-move to get open for the pass which was uncovered from the middle. Randolph took the ball for a short run up the right sideline the rest of the way and the crowd loved it. Wide receiver Brad Ekwerekwu made himself available for a 27-yard pass from Huard when he slashed into the middle from the right side of the field and caught the pass despite double coverage on him. Out with the second unit was Rob Hunt at left guard, Herb Taylor at left tackle, Rudy Niswanger at center, Tre Stallings at right guard and Ramiro Pruneda at right tackle. Fullback Boomer Grigsby, tight ends Michael Allan, and Mike Pinkard, running back Marcus O’Keith and wide receivers Chris Hannon and Rod Gardner took reps with the second unit.
Quarterback Casey Printers led a third unit a handful of times. Wide receiver Brent Little had trouble hanging onto a 8-yard pass from Printers to the middle when Little was bumped by his defender.
Defense
This morning the team took the field in their spiders. After coming off of a days rest it is not a good idea to put on pads right away in order to avoid injury. After the team stretched and worked on drills, they met on practice field No. 3 to work on 11-on-11 drills.
Head Coach Herm Edwards stressed that it is very important to work on the two minute drill. This drill involves the offense starting at the 30-yard line, and trying to march down the length of the field. The goal is to get a touchdown, or at least get in to field goal range, without running out of time.
During the drill, quarterback Brodie Croyle worked against the first team defensive unit, and quarterback Damon Huard against the second team. Both quarterbacks had similar goals; getting their team in to field goal range.
The defensive line had a couple of chances for interceptions on quarterback Brodie Croyle. Croyle threw the ball over the head of intended tight end Kris Wilson right in to the hands of safety Jarrad Page. Page had the ball in his hands, but could not hold onto it; he dropped the easy interception.
On the last play of Croyle’s chance at the two minute drill, he threw a pass to the outside. The wide receiver was tackled, but he was just short of the first down. At this point Head Coach Herm Edwards yelled, “They want to go for it, are you scared?”
After Croyle, Huard got a chance to run the same exact drill. Huard was able to pick apart the defense; he made nice throws through tight spots in the secondary. Huard was on a roll until he threw to wide receiver Samie Parker, splitting cornerback Dimitri Patterson and safety Greg Wesley, but Parker dropped the ball. On the next play, the offense jumped off-sides, helping out the defense. After that, defensive end Montez Murphy sacked Huard. It was important for the defensive line to rush Huard, since the defensive backs were unable to stop him. The offense was still able to get in to field-goal range, ultimately winning the drill.
Special Team
The kick-off crew used both sides of the field to practice fundamental drills. Players lined up in two vertical lines while one defender with a blocking pad stood 15 yards in front of both lines. Two ball carriers, one for each line, waited in the end zone with a ball. One player from each line sprinted toward the defender with a pad, giving them a head-and-shoulder fake, and then continued toward the ball carrier, who jogged toward the sideline, as if they were going for the tackle.
This drill was later merged into a customary kick-off unit coverage drill. From the 35-yard line, two defenders took off from two vertical lines, gave a head-and-shoulder fake to two defenders with blocking pads then continued on to close in on a ball carrier who tried to run the ball down field from the end zone. Orange cones marked the boundaries of where the carrier could go with the ball. Hitting was not allowed; players just went through the motions.
Fans
Jan and Cheryl Hanson, sisters from Kansas City, Mo., are at their third summer of training camp in River Falls this year. The Hanson sisters love coming to camp together each summer because it allows them to get away. Jan mentioned that their husbands are not as big fans as they are, so they leave them at home. Both sisters are excited to be at camp once again to watch their favorite players including running back Priest Holmes, tight end Tony Gonzalez and wide receiver Eddie Kennison.
Rose Micalovich, from Minneapolis, Minn. decided to take off a day of work and visit Chiefs camp this morning. Micalovich, who has followed the Chiefs ever since she was a child, has always wanted to attend camp, and made it for her first time this year. She likes being able to see her favorite players and being able to hear Head Coach Herm Edwards during practice. Micalovich plans to attend Family Fun Night on Wed, and hopes that she can get some autographs for her son, Austin, 8, who is also at camp.
Michael Shankerton attended camp this morning for his first time. Shankerton, who is a resident of River Falls, Wis., decided to see what training camp is like for the Chiefs by watching them practice and see their drills. Shankerton, 17, enjoyed being able to see star players such as tight end Tony Gonzalez on the practice field. Shankerton hopes the team continues holding camp in River Falls for many years to come. He said, “It is great to be able to see all the fans and it really means a lot for our community.”
Extra, Extra...
There were four important guests in attendance at today’s morning Chiefs practice. Wisconsin State Senator Sheila Harsdorf with her son, Ryan, 13, State Assemblymen John Murtha and regional coordinator for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, Matt Nikolay. The VIPs watched from the sidelines as the Chiefs had a light practice, donning only spiders. Ryan, who has been coming to Chiefs camp for quite sometime, was excited to get his picture taken with running back Priest Holmes. Holmes is one of Ryan’s favorite players. Also getting their picture taken with Holmes was Nikolay. Nikolay was avidly looking at his Camp Journal to check on the numbers of players making big catches and plays in preparation for his fantasy football picks. He also talked with running back Michael Bennett. Nikolay was sporting a Wisconsin Badgers polo, also Bennett's alma-mater and the two conversed about the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Len Dawson was at UWRF today, covering the fields for KMBC-TV 9, Kansas City, Mo. “I would practice until 5:30 and I was on the news at 6. Of course I was reporting on my own team then,” said Dawson. “I retired, and then I went to work for NBC doing game commentary, and came back to Kansas City to the radio network. I started doing that in 1985.” A former Chiefs quarterback himself, Dawson watched the field with a learned eye. “Today is my first time observing these guys on the field, so I haven’t come to any conclusion as to who [the quarterback] should be. I think a starter will emerge during the first few preseason games. It’s going to be an interesting battle,” said Dawson. Dawson also gave his opinion on the team’s chances for the upcoming season. “There are a lot of question marks. Question marks on their offensive line; there’s new tackles, new guards. There’s a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball. When you look around here, there are a lot of young people who are going to make the team. This training field here at River Falls is going to determine the fate of a lot of players.”
Quarterback Brodie Croyle was one of several players who tossed around a few pigskins after this morning’s practice. After removing his gear, Croyle grabbed a football and attempted to make a 25-yard pitch into a nearby trash can. He just missed; the ball scraped the side of the trash can before it was caught by a member of the equipment staff.
Signing autographs after practice were guard Tre Stallings, tight ends Herb Taylor and James Newby, kicker Justin Medlock, running back Derrick Ross, wide receiver Titus Ryan, and cornerback Rudy Niswanger.
Kicker Justin Medlock and long snapper Jean-Philippe Darche were throwing balls back and forth with tackle Will Svitek and center Rudy Niswanger after practice, while guard Tre Stallings and tackles Herb Taylor, James Newby, and George Batiste were working on the sleds after practice today.
Quarterback Brodie Croyle attempted to cool down during practice today by sporting a wet towel draped over his head as he observed fellow quarterback Damon Huard on the field.
Monday, Aug. 6, 2007: Morning
A heavy fog lifted just before this morning’s practice, leaving the air heavy with humidity at 85 percent. Cloudy skies kept the temperature down at 73 degrees, with an almost-nonexistent wind from the east at 3 miles per hour. The dew point was at 68. Some 105 fans eagerly watched practice from three sides of the practice fields at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Special Update
This morning was the first day in River Falls for Chiefs first round draft pick wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Bowe has reportedly agreed to terms, but not officially signed. He spoke to media at the podium after practice. Bowe was asked if he was upset he was that he was not signed earlier. Bowe replied, “At first I was upset, but I understand it is a business and you've got to make business decisions. My guy [Bowe’s agent] handled it well.” When asked about being in shape and ready to practice, Bowe said, “I don’t think I’m ready right now. These guys have a lot of days under their belts. In three or four days I should be ready to roll.” The media also questioned Bowe on a potential starting role with the Chiefs. “I don’t know right now; those guys have been getting reps and learning the offense, but once I get in and learn the offense I could get a spot,” said Bowe.
Offense
It was cloudy and the tempo of fans and personnel were sluggish, but that did not stop the offense from chugging along during practice.
Running back Priest Holmes took part in strength and conditioning drills this morning lead by Strength and Conditioning Coach Cedric Smith. Holmes was joined by fullback Greg Hanoian and tight end Jason Dunn as the trio engaged in 30-yard sprints, grapevines, high-knee skips, and other exercises. “Butt kicks, ready? Go!” commanded Smith, hitting the ‘start’ button on his stopwatch. “A little more, a little more!” Holmes surprised many fans at the end of practice by donning pads and a helmet for the first time during this year’s training camp under the supervision of Smith. Working the field with Dunn and quarterback Jeff Terrell, Holmes practiced running the ball while taking light, padded blocks from Smith.
The rest of the Chiefs started with position-specific drills. The offensive line used a two-man sled. One player drove the sled forward, and then broke to the side to hit another player holding a blocking pad. “Set. Yellow four, yellow four,” cued the lineman to get into position as an assistant coach yelled, “Drive, drive, drive; Break!” Quarterbacks started with footwork and did crossovers on foot-high barriers. Fullbacks, running backs and tight ends took pitches for a short run up the sideline. Receivers ran the cone for a curl to the sideline and caught a five-yard pass from an assistant coach.
Next, quarterbacks Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard and Casey Printers joined receivers to give 20-yard passes. Receivers worked on change of speed and direction, as well as breaking in and out off the middle. Quarterback Jeff Terrell gave hand-offs and outlets to ball carriers. The line went up against four players with blocking pads to work on blocking for the pass. After that all positions, with the exception of guards and centers, joined together for a drill that focused on running schemes and patterns against four defensemen with blocking pads. The drill ran at half speed, and there were no tackles. Quarterbacks Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard each led more than five of reps.
One session of 11-on-11 finished the practice. The players were in spiders; the rush was not full-blown and there were no hits. The drill started from the plus-28 yardline. Quarterback Brodie Croyle led the first unit. On the line were Damion McIntosh at left tackle, Brian Waters at left guard, Casey Wiegmann at center, Will Svitek at right guard and Kevin Sampson at right tackle. Running backs Michael Bennett and Kolby Smith, wide receivers Samie Parker and Eddie Kennison, tight end Keith Willis made appearances with the first unit. Croyle got in 23 reps and was 13-18 in passing. Cornerback Patrick Surtain tipped a pass that Croyle had intended for wide receiver Jeff Webb. Webb slashed from the left side of the field to the middle and could not keep Surtain from the 7-yard pass. Linebacker Derrick Johnson also got his hand on one of Croyle’s passes. He knocked down a left outlet pass en route to tight end Kris Wilson. Croyle dished a pass through a gap in the middle to Bennett who snuck through a group of defenders. Croyle also had a rocket 8-yard pass to the middle to wide receiver Samie Parker that Croyle guided through three defenders.
Quarterback Damon Huard came out with the second unit for 23 snaps. He threw the ball 16 times with five incompletes. He threw one pass into the grass without a receiver around; there seemed to have been miscommunication between him and his receiver. Later on, Huard would team up with wide receiver Ean Randolph for a spectular touchdown play. Huard gave Randolph a 20-plus yard pass to the right side after Randolph made a nice split-move to get open for the pass which was uncovered from the middle. Randolph took the ball for a short run up the right sideline the rest of the way and the crowd loved it. Wide receiver Brad Ekwerekwu made himself available for a 27-yard pass from Huard when he slashed into the middle from the right side of the field and caught the pass despite double coverage on him. Out with the second unit was Rob Hunt at left guard, Herb Taylor at left tackle, Rudy Niswanger at center, Tre Stallings at right guard and Ramiro Pruneda at right tackle. Fullback Boomer Grigsby, tight ends Michael Allan, and Mike Pinkard, running back Marcus O’Keith and wide receivers Chris Hannon and Rod Gardner took reps with the second unit.
Quarterback Casey Printers led a third unit a handful of times. Wide receiver Brent Little had trouble hanging onto a 8-yard pass from Printers to the middle when Little was bumped by his defender.
Defense
This morning the team took the field in their spiders. After coming off of a days rest it is not a good idea to put on pads right away in order to avoid injury. After the team stretched and worked on drills, they met on practice field No. 3 to work on 11-on-11 drills.
Head Coach Herm Edwards stressed that it is very important to work on the two minute drill. This drill involves the offense starting at the 30-yard line, and trying to march down the length of the field. The goal is to get a touchdown, or at least get in to field goal range, without running out of time.
During the drill, quarterback Brodie Croyle worked against the first team defensive unit, and quarterback Damon Huard against the second team. Both quarterbacks had similar goals; getting their team in to field goal range.
The defensive line had a couple of chances for interceptions on quarterback Brodie Croyle. Croyle threw the ball over the head of intended tight end Kris Wilson right in to the hands of safety Jarrad Page. Page had the ball in his hands, but could not hold onto it; he dropped the easy interception.
On the last play of Croyle’s chance at the two minute drill, he threw a pass to the outside. The wide receiver was tackled, but he was just short of the first down. At this point Head Coach Herm Edwards yelled, “They want to go for it, are you scared?”
After Croyle, Huard got a chance to run the same exact drill. Huard was able to pick apart the defense; he made nice throws through tight spots in the secondary. Huard was on a roll until he threw to wide receiver Samie Parker, splitting cornerback Dimitri Patterson and safety Greg Wesley, but Parker dropped the ball. On the next play, the offense jumped off-sides, helping out the defense. After that, defensive end Montez Murphy sacked Huard. It was important for the defensive line to rush Huard, since the defensive backs were unable to stop him. The offense was still able to get in to field-goal range, ultimately winning the drill.
Special Team
The kick-off crew used both sides of the field to practice fundamental drills. Players lined up in two vertical lines while one defender with a blocking pad stood 15 yards in front of both lines. Two ball carriers, one for each line, waited in the end zone with a ball. One player from each line sprinted toward the defender with a pad, giving them a head-and-shoulder fake, and then continued toward the ball carrier, who jogged toward the sideline, as if they were going for the tackle.
This drill was later merged into a customary kick-off unit coverage drill. From the 35-yard line, two defenders took off from two vertical lines, gave a head-and-shoulder fake to two defenders with blocking pads then continued on to close in on a ball carrier who tried to run the ball down field from the end zone. Orange cones marked the boundaries of where the carrier could go with the ball. Hitting was not allowed; players just went through the motions.
Fans
Jan and Cheryl Hanson, sisters from Kansas City, Mo., are at their third summer of training camp in River Falls this year. The Hanson sisters love coming to camp together each summer because it allows them to get away. Jan mentioned that their husbands are not as big fans as they are, so they leave them at home. Both sisters are excited to be at camp once again to watch their favorite players including running back Priest Holmes, tight end Tony Gonzalez and wide receiver Eddie Kennison.
Rose Micalovich, from Minneapolis, Minn. decided to take off a day of work and visit Chiefs camp this morning. Micalovich, who has followed the Chiefs ever since she was a child, has always wanted to attend camp, and made it for her first time this year. She likes being able to see her favorite players and being able to hear Head Coach Herm Edwards during practice. Micalovich plans to attend Family Fun Night on Wed, and hopes that she can get some autographs for her son, Austin, 8, who is also at camp.
Michael Shankerton attended camp this morning for his first time. Shankerton, who is a resident of River Falls, Wis., decided to see what training camp is like for the Chiefs by watching them practice and see their drills. Shankerton, 17, enjoyed being able to see star players such as tight end Tony Gonzalez on the practice field. Shankerton hopes the team continues holding camp in River Falls for many years to come. He said, “It is great to be able to see all the fans and it really means a lot for our community.”
Extra, Extra...
There were four important guests in attendance at today’s morning Chiefs practice. Wisconsin State Senator Sheila Harsdorf with her son, Ryan, 13, State Assemblymen John Murtha and regional coordinator for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, Matt Nikolay. The VIPs watched from the sidelines as the Chiefs had a light practice, donning only spiders. Ryan, who has been coming to Chiefs camp for quite sometime, was excited to get his picture taken with running back Priest Holmes. Holmes is one of Ryan’s favorite players. Also getting their picture taken with Holmes was Nikolay. Nikolay was avidly looking at his Camp Journal to check on the numbers of players making big catches and plays in preparation for his fantasy football picks. He also talked with running back Michael Bennett. Nikolay was sporting a Wisconsin Badgers polo, also Bennett's alma-mater and the two conversed about the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Len Dawson was at UWRF today, covering the fields for KMBC-TV 9, Kansas City, Mo. “I would practice until 5:30 and I was on the news at 6. Of course I was reporting on my own team then,” said Dawson. “I retired, and then I went to work for NBC doing game commentary, and came back to Kansas City to the radio network. I started doing that in 1985.” A former Chiefs quarterback himself, Dawson watched the field with a learned eye. “Today is my first time observing these guys on the field, so I haven’t come to any conclusion as to who [the quarterback] should be. I think a starter will emerge during the first few preseason games. It’s going to be an interesting battle,” said Dawson. Dawson also gave his opinion on the team’s chances for the upcoming season. “There are a lot of question marks. Question marks on their offensive line; there’s new tackles, new guards. There’s a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball. When you look around here, there are a lot of young people who are going to make the team. This training field here at River Falls is going to determine the fate of a lot of players.”
Quarterback Brodie Croyle was one of several players who tossed around a few pigskins after this morning’s practice. After removing his gear, Croyle grabbed a football and attempted to make a 25-yard pitch into a nearby trash can. He just missed; the ball scraped the side of the trash can before it was caught by a member of the equipment staff.
Signing autographs after practice were guard Tre Stallings, tight ends Herb Taylor and James Newby, kicker Justin Medlock, running back Derrick Ross, wide receiver Titus Ryan, and cornerback Rudy Niswanger.
Kicker Justin Medlock and long snapper Jean-Philippe Darche were throwing balls back and forth with tackle Will Svitek and center Rudy Niswanger after practice, while guard Tre Stallings and tackles Herb Taylor, James Newby, and George Batiste were working on the sleds after practice today.
Quarterback Brodie Croyle attempted to cool down during practice today by sporting a wet towel draped over his head as he observed fellow quarterback Damon Huard on the field.