[BigRedChief]

Wednesday, July 30, 2008: Morning Practice
Bright, sunny skies were accompanied by an 80 degree temperature, which made for an enjoyable practice. The humidity was at 54 percent and there was a 10 mile per hour wind coming out of the northwest. The 122 fans in attendance were able to enjoy watching some energy-filled football.
Special Teams
The punt unit started the practice off with a drill that focused on return coverage. Players lined up on the north 25-yard line of Ramer Field. The return team was distinguished from the cover team by wearing yellow skull caps over its helmets. A Juggs machine shot out balls that simulated a punt as punter Dustin Colquitt practiced his approach. Cornerbacks Rashad Barksdale and Tyron Brackenridge, safety DaJuan Morgan and kick returner B.J. Sams took turns on the return. Cornerback Maurice Leggett also took a few reps. He dropped two punts. After his first, Head Coach Herm Edwards encouraged the rookie saying, “That’s ok, you got it.”
During this drill the cover team worked on lane assignments “You gotta get a good release,” said Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer, “That a way 96. That’s a good job. That’s exactly what they’ll do.” The emphasis was put on covering the return rather than on the return itself as returners simply caught the punt but did not carry it up the field.
The return unit would take a few reps during a short drill to practice the return. The drill was run at half speed. Different scenarios, such as a right or left return, were called out. Two players from the return team paired up to go against one defender. The players worked for about 15 yards. The purpose of the drill was so that blockers could practice opening the lanes and holding off defenders for the ball carrier.
Defense
Defensive ends Tamba Hali and Brian Johnston weren’t in pads this morning, but they did participate with the rest of the defensive line in a few low-contact drills, including the agility ropes. Defensive end Trevor Johnson wasn’t suited up for the second practice in a row, and he didn’t participate in any drills. During Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie’s wrap-up drill, Hali was at the front of the line, encouraging his teammates. “There ya go!” he said as he clapped his hands. Later, Krumrie got heated telling his men they needed to hit harder. “Disengage his (butt). We’re too nice” he hollered over and over.
Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham led his men on the sleds this morning, but stopped the drill when rookie linebacker Steve Octavien messed up his crossover step. After Cunningham addressed the problem, Octavien fixed his mistake and the drill continued. Linebacker Derrick Johnson complimented his teammate, Aden Durde saying, “Good job 67. Getting better, baby. I like that.” From the sled, Cunningham took his linebackers to the middle of practice field three where they worked on covering the draw while in man-to-man and in cover two.
There was a pair of scuffles during 11-on-11. Defensive tackle Tank Tyler was involved in a pretty subtle brawl early in the drill, but later fists were flying as linebacker Pat Thomas and offensive tackle Damion McIntosh laid into each other after an impressive defensive stop. McIntosh ended up sitting out the rest of practice with ice on his knee.
The defense came to practice with fire under their feet because they made several good plays. Quarterback Damon Huard’s pass was intended for wide receiver Jeff Webb, but was broken up by cornerback Patrick Surtain as a result of his tight coverage. Almost immediately following that play, Huard threw another ball that was almost picked off by safety Jarrad Page. Linebacker Pat Thomas had a great tackle on running back Jackie Battle that resulted in a zero-gain. Quarterback Tyler Thigpen threw an interception to veteran linebacker Donnie Edwards. During the defense’s impressive showing, Head Coach Herm Edwards jogged from the south to the north end of Ramer Field to talk with cornerback Tyron Brackenridge on adjusting his coverage to move with the ball.
Offense
Quarterback Brodie Croyle, running back Larry Johnson and right tackle Damion McIntosh all did not participate in the full session of practice. Croyle and Johnson had the morning practice off for rest, according to Head Coach Herm Edwards.
With Croyle sitting out, quarterbacking duties were split between Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen, who warmed up by throwing to the running backs, tight ends wide receivers.
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey encouraged his offense as they warmed up, saying: “Don’t waste a day.”
After the warm up, the quarterbacks threw different patterns to the wide receivers as the running backs and tight ends split into separate groups. Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey praised wide receiver Devard Darling after a good wide receiver screen pass, shouting: “That’s good, that’s the way Devard; push him with your eyes.”
The running backs worked on splitting defenders, with fullbacks and other running backs posing as dummy defenders. Running Backs Coach Curtis Modkins emphasized to players the importance of keeping their pads down to split the defenders.
As the offense did 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, quarterbacks Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen alternated working with the first string offense.
Thigpen finished the practice completing 3-8 passes, including being intercepted twice. Rookie wide receiver Jabari Arthur made the catch of the day when he grabbed one of Thigpen’s better throws despite blanket coverage by cornerback Will Poole. Huard struggled early in the drill but settled down to complete 8 of his last 10 passes.
Rookie running back Jamaal Charles practiced exceptionally well. Charles broke through the line and into the secondary untouched on a screen pass from Huard, and found pay-dirt from 25 yards after a sweet cutback on a pitch from Thigpen.
Herm Edwards Press Conference
Head Coach Herm Edwards talked with the media for more than ten minutes after practice. Edwards said he liked the speed of the morning practice but said: “We just gotta continue to correct the mistakes and little things, that’s kind of important for us right now.”
When asked about the linebacker competition, Edwards said: “They’re competing, I said that in the spring and there’s gonna be movement there.”
The Chiefs practice with the Minnesota Vikings Thursday evening, and Edwards said that the practice is always fun—even though the last few times have been a little testy—he looks for the practice to be very productive.
“At this point in time players like seeing another uniform, I think we’ll do a good job of competing and that’s what we want to do; we want to get something out of it for both teams,” Edwards said.
When asked about former Chiefs defensive tackle Jared Allen, Edwards said: “Yeah, we’re probably going to hard count him. Jared did a great job here as a football player.”
Edwards said it will be good for rookie offensive tackle Branden Albert to go against a pro-bowler in Allen. “It will be a good test for him [Albert], the more he’s in that situation the better he’s gonna gain confidence.”
Of the scuffles occurring the last few days of practice, Edwards simply said, “Things flair up, that’s gonna happen and the good thing about it is that it happens and now it’s over. I just think it’s competitive, training camp brings that on sometimes.”
Extra Extra...
At 8:42 an air horn sounded to signal it was time for the team to warm up and stretch on Ramer Field before practice. Practice officially started at 8:52 to the sound of another air horn.
Quarterback Tyler Thigpen’s right calf muscle was wrapped for practice. This is the first time during camp he has had his leg wrapped. He appeared to be moving on his leg just fine during drills.
Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham and Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie talked about football while walking from Ramer Field to practice field three.
Head Coach Herm Edwards signed autographs for a few children while heading to the practice fields from Ramer Field. One little boy mentioned how he wanted to be like Edwards when he grew up. Edwards responded, “You wanna stand on the sidelines with me? You might wanna rethink that man. People throw stuff at me, man!” Later on, he asked the children if they wanted to come sit on the sidelines and watch. Edwards had them escorted onto Ramer so they could enjoy a better view for the rest of the practice.
Defensive Backs Coach David Gibbs saw quarterback Brodie Croyle standing on the 46-yard line during one-on-one drills. Croyle was yelling “go” each time a new player would step to the line. Gibbs screamed jokingly, “Quit (messing) up our drill!”
During today’s 11-on-11 drills, Head Coach Herm Edwards told the players, “Do your job. Don’t worry about anybody else’s job. Do your own job.”
There were new porter potties brought in during practice to begin the set up for the Chiefs/Vikings practice. Miller Lite beer was also hauled by truck near the concession stand for the upcoming festivities.
Linebacker Napoleon Harris took a few minutes after practice to speak to the media. He mentioned that he was taking full advantage of the opportunities that the coaches are giving the players to show what they can do. When asked about his thoughts on this morning’s practice, he responded, “If you wanna be a good team, you can’t be lopped-sided. The offense can’t be dominating each day and neither can the defense.”
Cornerback Brandon Flowers also took time to talk to the media after practice. He said he’s all about business during the season. After practice, he goes back to the residence halls and reads about future teams and studies plays. He knows he can have fun after the season is over. “I wanna come in and work hard,” Flowers said. During this up-coming season, his plans are to “Have fun. Make plays. Win ball games.”
While his teammates stretched, tight end Tony Gonzalez took a few passes from the left and right from Assistant Equipment Manager Allen Wright on the sideline. Wright and Gonzalez jokingly argued about the amount of points Gonzalez averaged while playing basketball in college. “Did you look at how many points I averaged as a starter,” Gonzalez asked Wright. Wright said no. “Look at what I averaged as a starter. That’s the good stuff,” replied Gonzalez. Quarterback Damon Huard was standing on the sidelines, and Gonzalez asked him how his hand was doing. Huard said that he had taken some Benadryl, so he was “feeling kinda trashed, but the swelling has gone down.”
At the finish of practice, Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham joined several of his players signing autographs for eager fans along the fence. The players signing were defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, running back Larry Johnson, safety Jarrad Page, cornerback Tyron Brackenridge, cornerback Rashad Barksdale, wide receiver Jabari Arthur, defensive end Jason Parker, wide receiver Kevin Robinson, safety Jon McGraw, cornerback Brandon Flowers, running back Jamaal Charles, defensive tackle Tank Tyler and tackle Branden Albert.
Center Rudy Niswanger spoke briefly to a reporter after practice. “I feel like I am physically the best fit at center,” Niswanger said. When the issue of players switching from left to right tackle was brought up, Niswanger said it’s an asset to any team to have players who can play at multiple positions. He made a reference to tackle Damion McIntosh saying McIntosh went seven or eight years playing tackle on one side, and this year switched to the other side. “He’s done a great job transitioning.”
Fans
Sometimes camp can lead to newly found friendships. This is the case for Sean and Danielle Garneau who have meet a new group of people in River Falls, the last four years. The Mechanic Falls, Maine, residents will be here until Sunday, and plan on watching the Chiefs/Vikings scrimmage tomorrow night. They said River Falls is a great little town; it reminds them a lot of Maine because the people are so nice. Danielle was a little disappointed to see her two favorite players gone: fullback Boomer Grigsby and defensive end Jared Allen. They are looking forward to seeing the rookies including defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, as the Chiefs rebuild the team.
Chiefs fan Barry Davies—accompanied by his grandson Aidan Easley— traveled from the Kansas City, Kan., area to catch a few practices. Young Aidan said he was having a good time so far, and his favorite player is running back Larry Johnson. Aidan is able to catch Kansas University basketball games because he is from Lawrence, Kan., which is where the Jayhawks play.
With football cards in his hand young Logan stood with his father Chris as the Emholtz family watched the practice at the south end of Ramer Field. Last year Logan rode his bike to practice every morning seeking autographs from the football players. He said he has always had more luck getting autographs in the morning. Chris said last year Head Coach Herm Edwards rode up in a cart to a group of young kids and signed memorabilia for all of them.
A lot of fans got a glance at preparation for the Chiefs’ scrimmage against the Vikings. Father Mike, with his 13-year old son Eric, and 9-year old son Nick all enjoyed their first training camp practice. Nick said his favorite player is tight end Tony Gonzalez and he enjoys seeing him up-close.
This marks the fifth year that Terry and Debbie Hiatt from Warrensburg, Mo., attended the Chiefs training camp. Both thought the Wisconsin weather was a great break from the weather they had been experiencing back home. Terry said that terrible storms hit back home and delivered over 15 inches of rain. Debbie’s favorite Chief is linebacker Derrick Johnson. Both Terry and Debbie are excited to watch former Chiefs’ defensive end Jared Allen at the Chiefs/Vikings scrimmage Thursday night.
Richard Uppelhans and his son Sasha of St. Louis, Mo., attended Chiefs camp for the first time. Both are making the most out of it. Sasha is an autograph machine. He has his football and hat almost completely covered with player’s autographs. Richard said that he plans on making Chiefs camp an annual trip. Both Richard and Sasha were amazed by the size and speed of the players.
Jerry Cerr and his wife Maggie will be at camp with their grandson Pat and son Joe all week. All four really enjoy the River Falls area. Jerry and Maggie are from Fort Scott, Kan., and Joe and Pat are from Atchison, Kan. Their favorite place to dine is the Copper Kettle. Jerry said, “They have fantastic walleye there.” Pat’s favorite player is Chiefs’ running back Larry Johnson.
Frank Captain and his son Caleb from Chelsea, Okla., were at their first Chiefs training camp. Frank is a high school football and track coach. He and Caleb are pulling for rookie running back Dantrell Savage to make the team. He is from Oklahoma State, which just happens to be Frank’s and Caleb’s favorite University. Both send greetings out to their family Madelyn and Tyler.