[BigRedChief]

Wednesday, August 6, 2008: Morning Practice

The Chiefs had a great pre-game practice accompanied by some very nice weather. The temperature was 71 degrees with a four mile per hour wind coming out of the southeast. The sky was mostly cloudy and the humidity was at 72 percent. There were 85 fans in attendance.

Defense
While the special teams unit worked on its skills, safety Bernard Pollard and defensive tackle Tank Tyler joked around on the sidelines. Pollard and Tyler were throwing “punches” at each other, talking smack. It was all in good fun, of course.
During the 11-on-11 drill, the team perfected some situation plays and worked on red- zone formations.
Overall, the practice was almost eerily quiet and laid back. But, with a preseason game tomorrow, it was expected.

Offense
Quarterback Damon Huard was the only player wearing shoulder pads during practice, all other players just had on shells.
The entirety of practice for the offense consisted of a warm-up where quarterbacks threw go routes to receivers and a one-quarter-speed situational walk through with the defense.

Quarterback Tyler Thigpen worked exclusively with the second-string, presumably to attain a familiarity with a certain group of players necessary for success during a National Football League preseason game.
The situations worked on ranged from third and two from the 45-yard line to third and goal from the 12-yard line.

Special Teams
The special teams unit had a slow-go at practice today. Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer walked the team through different game-time scenarios and instructed the players on how to handle the situation. A focus was put on the kickoff cover and return game. “You got to set the wedge before the ball and in between the numbers. All kickoff rules apply,” said Priefer to the return team. The cover team worked on giving blockers head and shoulder fakes as members of the team “dipped and ripped” by/through the wedge.

The punt return was briefly touched upon. “Last play of the half, fair catch it,” explained Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer, “Don’t cover, just go to your assignments.”

Lining up for field goal attempts was sporadically practiced when the offense and defense came together on Ramer Field for a walkthrough at 9:52. One scenario had punter Dustin Colquitt—who also serves as the team’s holder—getting a leg cramp, in which quarterback Damon Huard came in to make the hold.

Extra Extra...
Practice started to the sound of an air horn at 8:57. The team huddled on the middle of Ramer Field at 10:26 at the end of practice.
Safety DaJuan Morgan and defensive tackle Tank Tyler walked onto Ramer Field for practice singing and chanting to their teammates.
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey, Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham and Assistant Offensive Line Coach Joe D’Alessandris were up in the press box for a portion of morning practice. They walked underneath the bleachers and back onto Ramer Field.
President Carl Peterson was on the field with the coaches during practice. Vice President Denny Thum remained on the sidelines mainly talking with Director of Public Relations, Bob Moore.

Wide receiver Sergiori Joachim; quarterback Damon Huard; cornerback Brandon Flowers; running back Jamaal Charles; tight ends Michael Allan and Brad Cottam; tackle Damion McIntosh; defensive end Jonal Saint-Dic; linebackers Derrick Johnson and Steve Octavien; defensive tackle Tank Tyler, and Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham took time to sign autographs after practice for fans.

Head Coach Herm Edwards stopped and talked to Michael Lakin, the young boy who got hurt yesterday. Edwards walked towards him saying, “My man is back! How you doin’? You okay?”

Herm Edwards Press Conference
"I think these guys have put in a lot of work, and now we've got to go play. That's the next step for these guys, go play in a game, and see how they're going to react. I like what they've done so far. I like our camaraderie. I like our energy. So now we've got to go do that on the football field. There'll be a lot of things happen; there'll be some things that we don't like. The great thing about these guys, they come to work every day wanting to get coached. "

"When you get into the preseason, there are a couple things you've got to stress to your team. One is that we have to play smart, play physical, and then to play fast. Those are three traits I believe in. If you're going to be a good football team, those things have to happen. That kind of covers the whole gamut. Offensively, our ability to move the ball and put some points on the board. And we're playing against a good defense.

That's going to be a good test, our ability to not to turn the ball over. They're known to take the ball away. How our coverage teams cover them. That's important. Maybe establish – and maybe it'll take the preseason to establish who's going to be our return guy. Looking at some of our young offensive linemen, how they play. Defensively, really, improving on the run, trying to take the ball away, improving those types of things – tackling. With that, special teams and defense, tackling, how we're going to tackle. We haven't tackled anybody since the last game of the season. Those things are the key."

Cornerback Brandon Flowers: "Right now, he's penciled in to be a starter. Unless something happens, he's going to start. Every time he plays, he's going to get better. He's a very competitive player. But all of a sudden, he's playing in a league where he's playing against a lot of veteran wideouts. He's going to have to learn the tricks of the trade on the job. Not on the bench, on the job. Every time he plays in a game, he's going to improve. There's a lot of guys who are going to play and going to improve."

QBs: "Could be all the way into the second quarter sometimes. It's plays, what they do offensively. They'll all play. All the quarterbacks will play. Probably Brodie and Tyler will play more than Damon, but we anticipate all of them playing. "

Runningback Larry Johnson: "He's going to play. Snaps, he's going to be somewhere around 20 or so. We're going to give him the ball. He's going to touch the ball five, six times. That's probably going to be good for him the first game."

"It's important to have the whole offensive line out there. The rest of them have been out there, and Herb played last year. Just to keep the same guys in there the whole time, that's how you grow as an offense. They're going to be young, they're going to be amped up. No matter what you tell them, it doesn't work. That's why we'll have oxygen on the sideline. After about the third play, they're going to think they're not in shape because of anxiety because you take in so much oxygen because of anxiety. Once they get over that, they'll be fine. They'll play, and these guys will have fun."

"Six guys won't go. Donnie Edwards, Kolby Smith, Trevor Johnson, Glenn Dorsey, Branden Albert, Kevin Robinson won't go," said Edwards of the preseason game.

Fans
Hank and his son Will Johnston from Lee's Summit, Mo., are really enjoying watching the Chiefs practice. This is the first year that the two of them have made it to training camp. Will’s favorite player is wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. While at training camp, Will got Bowe to autograph his hat. Hank said, “I am glad he got Bowe’s autograph, cause that’s all he would talk about on the car ride up here.”

Jim Schmidt from Eagan, Minn., says he is going to be a Chiefs fan for life. He said “I’m a Chiefs fan, my wife’s a Chiefs fan, my son’s a Chiefs fan, now all I have to do is get my daughter to stop cheering for the Green Bay Packers.” This is the second year in a row Schmidt has attended Chiefs training camp. He said, “It’s tough being a Chiefs fan in Minnesota, but it’s worth it. I just can’t see myself cheering for the Vikings.” Schmidt’s favorite player is linebacker Donnie Edwards.

Tim and Marcia Rozell from Manhattan, Kan., brought their two children Sam and Josie to River Falls to watch the Chiefs practice. They arrived last Sunday and will be moving onto other activities tomorrow. This is the third year they have come and cheered their Chiefs on. Sam’s favorite player is wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. They enjoy dinning at the Copper Kettle while in town.
As Lane Johnson went for a run this morning, he noticed the Chiefs stretching on Ramer Field. This was Lane’s first time at camp and he was surprised how large the players were in person, even without pads. Lane typically runs around the campus and around the various parks in River Falls.

Eau Claire, Wis., residents B.J. and Zach Pickard were out at their first practice of the year. B.J. said that he was a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan and Zach was primarily a Green Bay Packers fan. “This is a lot different from Packers camp, there it’s kind of a circus,” said B.J.. The two were going to try and get some autographs on plain sheets of paper.

Next stop for many Chiefs fans is going to be Chicago tomorrow, for the Chiefs preseason game against the Bears. This is true for Trey and Lucy Parker, who are from Topeka, Kan., and are staying in their RV at Hoffman Park in River Falls. When they get to Chicago they plan on going shopping, seeing Navy Pier and exploring some museums.

Fans supported their favorite player quarterback Brodie Croyle this morning in the Ramer Field bleachers. Tom with sons Matthew and Andrew Hokanson raised a 12-by- 12 foot flag with Tom’s wife, Mirian Rivera-Hokanson. The two young boys were wearing Brodie Croyle’s old high school jerseys, which were red that said Westbrook across the front. Tom said that every summer they have been coming up, and they just got here today. The family rushed here from the Twin Cities to catch the early practice, after coming back from Honduras where they made the sign. Two years ago they made a sign “helping” Croyle come back from an injury, then last year they made a sign with a hunting theme.