Thank God football season is back. I went to the Patriots' second practice yesterday, and even just watching guys go through slow-motion drills gets me wishing it were September already. It sucks that you guys don't have camp near Kansas City yet...

Camp Practice Update 8/1 A.M.
August 1, 2009 - Bob Gretz |

From River Falls, Wisconsin

There were some butterflies for Todd Haley as he led the first training camp practice in his tenure as head coach.

“I forgot to blow the whistle a couple of times,” Haley said. “When you are an assistant, they don’t let you have a whistle. Only the head coach. I missed a couple, I’ve got to

“That’s one (practice) down, one day of semi-controlled chaos.”

Haley was having a little fun with the chaos comment. The workout was very much like any other first-day practice around NFL training camps. The Chiefs were in full pads and they actually had a live hitting session when they worked on goal line offense and defense. Haley liked the way the team practiced.

“We had to get on them a little bit about making sure they get from drill to drill quickly, but otherwise it was a good morning,” Haley said.

The head coach also proved to be intolerant of mental mistakes, as he made both DE Alex Magee and DT Derek Lokey run 200 yards (up and down the length of the field once) as punishment for jumping offsides in a pass rush-pass protection drill.

There were two apparent injuries during the workout, as ILB Derrick Johnson left with what looked like a pulled hamstring and G Edwin Harrison went down with an injury to his lower right leg.

There were nine players missing from the workout because they’ve not yet passed the team physical. On the PUP List are RB Kolby Smith, DE Glenn Dorsey and TE Jake O’Connell. Smith is coming off a knee injury and surgery from last season. Dorsey is battling a left shin problem and O’Connell appeared to have a calf injury.

On the NFI List the Chiefs placed LB Brian Waters, RG Mike Goff, RT Damion McIntosh, DT Ron Edwards, DE Dion Gales and LB Demorrio Williams. Haley would not address the non-practicing players but it’s a good bet those guys on the NFI are the ones who failed to complete the conditioning test in the required time on Friday moring.

Here’s some highlights from the morning session:

- The Chiefs ran about seven or eight plays in a live goal-line segment. Everybody was allowed to be hit but the quarterback. On the first play, RB Larry Johnson jumped outside and beat LB Zach Thomas to the pylon for a nice touchdown. Later, L.J. got dragged down in the backfield on a run right by DT Derek Lokey, who had a great tackle. RB Jamaal Charles tried the inside and there was great controversy on whether he crossed the goal line or not. No ruling was ever given, but Charles took several big shots inside on the play. The drill ended with QB Tyler Thigpen throwing a TD pass to TE Tony Curtis.

- Rookie free agent LB Jovan Belcher showed up several times with big hits, once in the run-oriented nine-on-seven drill and then again in team work when he hit RB Javarris Williams in the backfield and forced a fumble.

- With Goff, Waters and McIntosh out of the No. 1 offensive line, filling their spots were Herb Taylor at RT, wade Smith at LG and Tavares Washington at RG.

- When D.J. went down, Monty Beisel took his spot with the No. 1 defense.

- Here’s how the No. 1 defense lined up: Alfonso Boone, Tank Tyler and Alex Magee across the front, with Beisel and Zach Thomas at inside linebacker and then Mike Vrabel and Tamba Hali at OLB. The secondary was the Brandons (Flowers and Carr) on the corners with Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard at the safety spots.

- Rookie WR Quinten Lawrence flashed his speed during the one-on-ones when he blew past CB Maurice Leggett on a deep post. Leggett is one of the fastest players on the team. QB Matt Cassel’s throw was too long for Lawrence to make the catch.

- Second-year man Barry Richardson worked at both right tackle and left guard during the pass protection drill. When he moved inside he didn’t do a bad job against Magee.

- In a pass rush drill OLB Mike Vrabel ran past Richardson at RT two of the three times he rushed. Richardson snuffed his inside move on the third snap.

- Also in the pass rush drill, OLB Turk McBride and LT Branden Albert locked up in a good battle, with McBride getting a slight edge on this day.

- After practice there were 12 different players catching kicks off the jugs machine as the Chiefs continue to search for kick and punt returners. They were: RBs Charles, Williams, Jackie Battle and Dantrell Savage; WRs Lawrence, Terrance Copper, Taurus Johnson and Rodney Wright and DBs Leggett, Donald Washington, Jackie Battle and Londen Fryar.

– The safeties spent extra time after practice working with assistant coach Ronnie Bradford. It appeared they were working on keys to help them with that fine line between run support and dropping in coverage.

- K Ryan Succop hit six of eight kicks, missing wide left and one was blocked. It was impossible to tell the distance, but he made his last kick, which appeared to be close to 50 yards and did it in very windy conditions.

NOTES: Weather conditions were perfect for a football practice, with cloudy skies, a nice breeze and temperatures in the lower 60s, with no humidity … three of the four Hunt siblings attended the practice: Lamar Jr., Clark and Daniel … a big contingent of national media was there, including Alex Marvez from Foxsports.com, Don Banks of SI.com and Nancy Gay of AOL.com … after practice the running backs signed autographs for the crowd.

Saturday, August 1: Morning Practice

It was a blustery, chilly start to the 2009 Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp. The first practice was 60 degrees with a partly sunny sky and a dewpoint of 52. There was a gusty wind towards the west at 10 miles-per-hour with an overall humidity of 74 percent.

Defense

Defensive end Dion Gales, linebacker Demorrio Williams, defensive end Glenn Dorsey and defensive tackle Ron Edwards were not dressed in pads for practice today. They spent the majority of practice in the northwest corner of the practice fields, riding stationary bikes, jogging, lifting weights and doing other sorts of workouts. Around 9:45 a.m. linebacker Derrick Johnson joined his teammates on the stationary bikes.

During a drill, a defensive player represented an offensive player, and the linebackers would shift according to this man’s movements. A lot of yelling was done during the drill in order for everyone of the players to be on the same page and know where to go.

At 9:23 a.m. another horn sounded, and the offense and defense split up. Defensive end Alfonso Boone, defensive tackle Tank Tyler, defensive tackle Derek Lokey, defensive end Wallace Gilberry, defensive end Alex Magee and defensive end Bobby Greenwood spent some time on the single sled with Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie. Krumrie paused once or twice to show the men how they should be using their hands. “Stay as square as you can with tight hands,” he said. “Make sure you’re not lunging!”

After running drills on the single sled, defensive end Alfonso Boone, defensive tackle Tank Tyler, defensive tackle Derek Lokey, defensive end Wallace Gilberry, defensive end Alex Magee and defensive end Bobby Greenwood moved to drills on four cone-shaped dummies. Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie hollered, “You’re not listening! Club, rip it!” on several occasions. The group ran different routes amongst the four dummies to simulate different situations in which the defensive linemen would have to break through offensive blockers to reach the quarterback. In order to be successful at the drill, Krumrie told the players to keep their “feet underneath them. Feet, feet, feet!” During one of the routes, Krumrie stood really close to the third dummy and hollered, “Step, step, club!” as the men ran by.

Rookie defensive end Alex Magee was getting his fair share of praise from Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie. At one point Krumrie told the end from Purdue that he was doing a good job. “There ya go. Good, Alex, good,” Krumrie said.

When the horn sounded at 9:40 a.m. all the defensive players got together except for defensive end Alfonso Boone, defensive tackle Tank Tyler, defensive tackle Derek Lokey, defensive end Wallace Gilberry, defensive end Alex Magee and defensive end Bobby Greenwood who stayed with Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie. “I’m looking at your eyes men. Tank, you’re looking at the ground,” Krumrie hollered. “See me!” Later, when the defensive linement were working on some one-on-one drills, Krumrie told the men to “throw that son of a (gun).”

During a 7-on-7 drill, utilizing the offense’s running game, defensive end Alfonso Boone, defensive tackle Tank Tyler and linebackers Tamba Hali, Mike Vrabel, Monty Beisel and Zach Thomas all saw time with the first-string. Rounding out the 7-on-7 first-string was rookie defensive end Alex Magee. Later, during a 7-on-7 drill addressing the passing game, cornerbacks Brandon Carr, Maurice Leggett, and Brandon Flowers; safeties Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page; and linebackers Tamba Hali, Monty Beisel, Mike Vrabel and Zach Thomas were considered first-string. Linebacker Weston Dacus also saw time, giving Thomas a bit of a breather.

During the 7-on-7 passing drill, linebacker Weston Dacus had an interception off quarterback Tyler Thigpen as well as a ball that he was able to knock down, also from Thigpen. Cornerback Travis Daniels showed good coverage on rookie wide receiver Quinten Lawrence as the ball sailed through the rookie’s hands. Earlier, Daniels had a good defensive cover on wide receiver Devard Darling. Darling was also stopped well by cornerback Ricardo Colclough earlier in the drill.

Offense

Special Teams

Newly acquired kicker Ryan Succop kicked some footballs the distance of the middle practice field across. After a while, Succop began kicking through the goal post from the 20-yard line. It was up to fans on the south end to shag the balls. Fans would retrieve the football, throw it back to long snapper Tanner Purdum who would then throw the ball to punter Dustin Colquitt. “Hey, can I get a few snaps?” Succop asked Purdum after a few more kicks through the uprights.

At 9:05 a.m. the horn blew, and the defensive worked on getting off the line toward kicker Ryan Succop. During the drill, punter Dustin Colquitt, who was holding the ball for Succop, ran a fake play. Colquitt got the snap, Succop faked the kick, and Colquitt ran the ball. This trick play was run twice.

Extra, extra...

At 9:15 a.m. the team began warm-ups. Both the offense and defense ran the length of the middle practice field across twice before they turned to face each other to stretch. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was the only player with his helmet on during stretches before a teammate pointed it out, and he took it off. Bowe was the closest player to the fans on the south fence during stretches. These fans were hollering at Bowe, and in response, the receiver flashed a smile their way. During the stretches, Head Coach Todd Haley wandered in between all the players.

The team took their final huddle at 10:48 a.m. After practice, the defensive backs stayed out, running various drills on separate fields.

At the conclusion of practice, running backs Mike Cox, Larry Johnson, Jamaal Charles, Dantrell Savage, Kolby Smith and Jackie Battle signed autographs for eager and excited fans on the west side of the practice fields, along the fence.

Fans

Chiefs Assistant Equipment Manager Allen Wright headed toward the sidelines with a football he said was “kind of flat,” and handed it to seven-year-old Sterling Short of West Des Moines, Iowa. Short said he was afraid Wright was coming over to yell at him because Short had dropped his own Nerf football on the other side of the fence moments earlier.

The Moore family, Sean (father), Patrick (15), Katherine (13), Matthew (9), Stephen (7) and Thomas (3) from Carbondate, Kan. headed to River Falls, Wis. for a summer vacation with their uncle Miguel Rodriguez from Carlsbad, N.M. Cousins Mitchell Tillges (14) from Cambridge, Minn. and Jared White (13) from South St. Paul, Minn. were also there. Usually the Moore family comes to River Falls during the winter months for vacation, but they decided to switch things up this year and come during the summer in order to watch the Chiefs practice during Summer Training Camp. Their favorite player is safety DaJuan Morgan and last night, they made a large sign approximately 3’x7’ that said “Go DaJuan #38! Lock down” to cheer him on during practice. Katherine also mentioned that she and her brother Patrick attended Chiefs former Head Coach Herm Edwards' camp a few years ago. It was free for the first 1,000 fans from middle school through high school. Morgan was Katherine’s coach during the camp and afterwards, she sent him a letter thanking him for everything. In return, Morgan sent her a letter and one of his gloves with his autograph. “[Edwards] taught us about sportsmanship, integrity and respect, all things you should have in daily life,” stated Patrick. Sean added, “We are going to miss Herm, but we are excited for the new Chiefs sta

OMFG CASSEL SUCKS!!!!!!!111one

Yes, He has the foot work, the work ethic, and the attitude.

But he is not a rookie.

Access Training Camp: Blog - The Fun Begins...
Aug 01, 2009, 8:11:17 AM by Josh Looney


Follow the Chiefs on Twitter! | Follow Josh too! - Photo Gallery - (updated)

POST-PRACTICE THOUGHTS

August 1st - 11:55 AM

Offensive Linemen To Be Back Soon: One cause for alarm during this morning’s practice session was the lack of active veteran offensive lineman (Waters, Mcintosh and Goff all worked out on the sidelines without pads). Coach Haley quickly distinguished fears of long-term problems during his post-practice press conference, saying that the linemen held out today will likely return to action in the short-term.

Watchful Eyes on Receivers: In the practice blog I observed that it seemed the wideouts had cut down on the amount of drops from previous camps. Even so, Coach Haley indicated that he would like to see fewer dropped balls during his post-practice press conference. This is a position group that Haley previously coached and it is already evident that Haley will hold this position group to a high standard.

AM PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS

August 1st - 8:50 AM

We’re underway here on the practice fields at UWRF. Full pads on the first day! Coach Haley means business.

9:03 AM - Some notables from pre-practice:

* QB Brodie Croyle is in full pads for the first time since injuring his left knee last season
* List of those not practicing: LB Demorrio Williams, G Brian Waters, RB Kolby Smith, T Damion McIntosh, G Mike Goff, DE Dion Gales, DT Ron Edwards, DT Glenn Dorsey
* No Chiefs decals on the helmets

9:10 - TE Jake O’Connell is also out of action this morning

9:18 - Pre-practice has concluded and stretching has begun. The weight loss over the off-season with this squad is quite apparent now that the guys are in full pads.

9:29 - The offense opened up, as usual, by running plays “on air.” Not very noteworthy…except for the fact that the linemen were pushing a five-man sled 5-10 yards on each snap (with three coaches riding).

9:41 - A product of the new regime/new defensive scheme…linebackers are split during position drills into inside/outside posts. In past years, linebackers worked out together regardless of their alignment.

9:53 - More new twists to the practice regimine…Inside run drills (QBs, RBs, OL, DL, LBs) were conducted in a rapid-fire format. Three seperate groups all in action, one right after the other.

9:54 - While the big boys worked on inside run, the WRs worked with the DBs on downfield blocking/shedding blockers and open field tackling/pursuit.

10:03 - Rookie WR Taurus Johnson had a nice acrobatic grab down the left sideline during one-on-one drills. During the same drills, WR Mark Bradley displayed soft hands on a number of looks, extending his hands and catching the ball away from his body.

10:05 - The pads were popping on 8-vs-8 drills (full squad except DBs and WRs). Even though the guys weren’t going in “full contact,” it was plenty close to the real deal.

10:27 - 7-on-7 drills have come to a close…seems to me like there were less drops than a year ago, that’s encouraging on the first practice of camp. LB Weston Dacus made a pair of nice plays, picking off a pass across the middle and logging a PBU just a few plays following the INT.

10:30 - I can’t stress enough how different these practices are to watch than what fans visiting River Falls are accustomed to.

10:33 - 11-v-11 to close things out and then we’ll go and hear from the head coach.

10:58 - Time to see what Coach Haley thought…more soon!

August 1st – 8:10 AM

NOW THE FUN BEGINS
Weights have been recorded and conditioning tests have been run…all the little things are out of the way. Today, football officially begins for the Chiefs in 2009. Two-a-days are here!

Today’s practice schedule calls for an AM session from 9:00 – 11:00 AM and a PM practice from 4:30 – 6:30 PM.

I’ll be updating you from the practice field throughout the morning and afternoon sessions…so keep checking this blog and kcchiefs.com for full coverage of training camp. The practice fields have been set up…all that’s left are the arrival of the player and coaching staff.

Dude. POSITIVE spin. Like this:

"- Rookie WR Quinten Lawrence flashed his speed during the one-on-ones when he blew past CB Maurice Leggett on a deep post. Leggett is one of the fastest players on the team. QB Matt Cassel’s throw was too long for Lawrence to make the catch."

OMFG CASSEL'S GOT SUCH A GUN HE CAN OUT-THROW THE FASTEST GUY ON THE TEAM!!1!1!

(Actually, I'm only being semi-facetious here. Cassel does need to work on the deep ball accuracy, but for those who think the kid doesn't have an arm, they're wrong. Everyone in New England would say, "You can't overthrow Randy Moss", but Cassel did it a few times. Then again, Lawrence probably wasn't doggin' it, LOL...)

Gretz- L.J.: “Hit Them Like A Bullet … Not A Tank”
 

L.J.: “Hit Them Like A Bullet … Not A Tank”
August 1, 2009 - Bob Gretz |

From River Falls, Wisconsin

After spending nearly 30 minutes signing autographs for fans at the Chiefs first training camp practice, a smiling Larry Johnson took some time to talk.

L.J. is slim and trim and says he’s in the best football shape of his life. Todd Haley asked him to lose some weight and it’s obvious Johnson followed through. He said he was 223 Saturday morning and figures he’ll be at 220 by the time camp is over. Over his career with the Chiefs, Johnson has played at 230 to 235 pounds.

“I’m going to hit them like a bullet with some speed and not a tank,” Johnson said. “I really feel good and I do feel faster.”

He certainly looks faster and showed that speed during the morning workout. In a goal-line drill, Johnson was forced to run outside and he was able to beat the defense to the corner of the end zone. “I don’t want to get caught from behind anymore,” Johnson said with a smile. Against the Broncos last year, L.J. had a 65-yard run where he was caught from behind before he got into the end zone.

It’s his torso and upper body where Johnson is slimmer and trimmer. From the waist down, he’s still got the big powerful legs. “Nothing I can do about those … they came from my Dad,” Johnson said with a laugh.

More on L.J. coming tomorrow morning from River Falls.

I am hard.

very curious to hear something from Morgan this year

and where's Mike Brown?

Man that is disappointing.

If it lasts for more than 4 hours, consult your physician.

http://kan.scout.com/2/883832.html

Saturday, August 1, AM Practice - 9:00 - 11:00 AM.

It was a windy and slightly cold first practice for the Chiefs. With the temperature just over 60 degrees and cloudy skies, the fans who stood stationary as they watched the Chiefs work up a sweat were chilly. Still, they were in good spirits as they showcased their pride wearing Chiefs apparel and taking photos.

Eight players did not practice today after failing to pass a part of their physical examination. On defense, Glenn Dorsey, Dion Gales, Ron Edwards and Demorrio Williams worked out with assistant strength and conditioning coach Brent Salazar. On offense, it was Damion McIntosh, Brian Waters, Mike Goff and Kolby Smith. Smith and Edwards have suffered ongoing injuries throughout the offseason.

The players worked on their conditioning in front of the fans. They were instructed to do line drills with weights and ride stationary bikes.

With media members more restricted in roaming range than in past years, the view of practice was lacking. As eighty players scrambled on the field, watching from afar made getting details difficult.

The players wore pads, but drills were not run at full speed and hitting was as far as it went. No tackling occurred.

Kicker Ryan Succop worked on his steps and timing his kicks as the offensive line worked on staying low and planting for the block without defenders. Succop hit seven of eight field goal attempts. His attempt from the 20-yard line, from the left hash mark, was blocked by cornerback Brandon Flowers and recovered by safety Jarrad Page. His longest kick came from 40 yards out from the left hash.

Quarterback Matt Cassel took reps with the first-string offense. Tyler Thigpen came out with the second string and Brodie Croyle with the third during an 8-on-7 (eight defenders, seven on offense) drill. Thigpen had one interception and one knockdown during the drill. Cassel and Croyle completed every pass.

The quarterbacks threw during a drill that paired one cornerback or safety against one wide receiver. Rookie receiver Taurus Johnson had a nice-one handed grab for a 40-yard gain up the left sideline from Croyle.

Agility was the theme for the defense. Ends, tackles and linebackers were run through a series of drills using barriers and cones that stressed lifting their feet off the ground and maneuvering over and around stand-in offensive linemen to make the tackle. Cornerbacks and safeties worked on their responsibilities, running through different schemes while keeping their opponent in front of them and avoiding separation.

A majority of the practice was spent running position-specific drills. Coaches were vocal and the team practiced up tempo. An 11-on-11 drill was run on the middle of three practice fields. A barrier of players and the distant spots for viewing the drill from the provided bleachers kept fans and media members from viewing the drill with clarity.

At the conclusion of practice multiple players spent extra time out on the field honing their receiving and blocking skills.

River Falls Recap: 7/31

So says some random girl.