[BigRedChief]

Tuesday, August 5, 2008: Afternoon Practice
The 89 fans in attendance sat through a sun-filled practice. The temperature was 85 degrees and there was barely a cloud in the sky. There was a 10 mile per hour wind coming out of the northwest and the humidity was at 29 percent.
Defense
The defensive line worked on getting past blocks quickly this afternoon. Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie made sure his men focused on disengaging the offensive line. The linebackers practiced covering the man in motion, and the defensive backs worked on covering the pass routes. After the team worked on field goal coverage, the defense had a walk-through going over different defensive plays.

During 11-on-11, quarterback Damon Huard threw an interception to cornerback Rashad Barksdale. Barksdale soared into the air to make the pick. Later, Barksdale displayed good coverage on a play. Quarterback Tyler Thigpen threw an interception to rookie safety DaJuan Morgan about 20 yards downfield. Morgan made a diving catch near the end zone to come away with the pick.

Offense
Wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Kevin McMahan played catch while the special teams worked on punt returns. Later, during the wide receiver drills, Bowe once again showed the skill set that a number one receiver must have. Bowe made a mid-air adjustment on a ball thrown behind him in the end zone and snagged it with one hand.

Quarterback Tyler Thigpen is listed as the backup quarterback on the unofficial preliminary 2008 depth chart according to the Chiefs’ website. Thigpen showed great mobility while working with the second-string on a pass where he rolled out and threw across his body, making the completion to wide receiver Bobby Sippio.

Starting quarterback Brodie Croyle completed a pair of passes back-to-back to wide receiver Dwayne Bowe during the first-string’s second round in the 11-on-11. The first was a 20-yard slant and the second was a screen, where Bowe weaved around the defenders to find daylight. Bowe’s best catch of the day came three plays later when Croyle’s pass was tipped and nearly intercepted by safety Jarrad Page, and Bowe came out of nowhere to make an impossible diving grab.

Listed on the unofficial depth chart as the third-string quarterback, Damon Huard worked with the third offense during practice. Huard threw a great pass to wide receiver Sergiori Joachim 50 yards down the field but Joachim was unable to get two feet in bounds to record the catch.

Special Teams
A Juggs machine was set up on the minus 20-yard line. It shot out punts for a cover drill as punter Dustin Colquitt practiced his approach. The drill was run at quarter speed and there was no hitting; mostly because the Chiefs have a preseason game on Thursday. Cornerback Rashad Barksdale and kick return specialist B.J. Sams took turns receiving the punt. They jogged returns for an average of 30 yards. The return team was
distinguished by wearing yellow skull caps. The first cover team consisted of: running back Jackie Battle, linebackers Demorrio Williams, Pat Thomas, E.J. Kuale and Derrick Johnson, cornerbacks Dimitri Patterson and Tyron Brackenridge, and safeties Jon McGraw and DaJuan Morgan. Squeezing in on the returner was the emphasis of the drill. This prevents the returner from making a play up field.

Kicker Connor Barth took and made his only field goal attempt at the beginning of an 11-on-11 session. He kicked from the left 30-yard line. Kicker Nick Novak did not kick during the drill.

Extra Extra...
Players began warming up at 3:28 on the north end of Ramer Field after an air horn sounded.
Wide receivers Sergiori Joachim and Devard Darling; quarterback Damon Huard; running backs Kolby Smith, Jamaal Charles and Larry Johnson; safeties Jon McGraw and Bernard Pollard; linebackers Pat Thomas and Donnie Edwards; tackle Damion McIntosh; and tight end Tony Gonzalez all took time to sign autographs after practice for many awaiting fans.
Practice ended to the sound of a whistle at 4:56.

Quarterback Damon Huard took time after practice to speak to media after practice. When asked about the up-coming football season he said, “they all (offense, defense and special teams) need to play together. We need to run the football. The guys are coming together,” Huard said.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez said he is looking forward to the game against the Chicago Bears. He’s excited to play against others, instead of wasting time playing against teammates. The media asked him how training camp was going and he said, “It’s going good. It’s going good. Better than I expected. If I had my choice, I wouldn’t even be here. I’ve missed camp before and played in games just fine.” Media asked him if he was surprised at how saving a man’s life has blown up so much. Gonzalez said, “Yeah (laughing) it was way more than I expected. I never thought it would be anything like that. Actually, at the beginning of it the guy was like who can I write to, who can I tell about this and I was like, nobody. Absolutely not. I’m not giving you any information. And then my brother, on the way out, he caught my brother in the corner and was like how can I do something. And he said if you want to do something, just write and maybe you can give something to his charity. And then he wrote a letter to my charity and and that’s how it blew up. It wasn’t my intention to have it something as big as it was…”

At the end of practice, tight end Tony Gonzalez signed a few autographs for fans at the north snow fence of Ramer Field. Before leaving the fence, Gonzalez threw his receiving gloves into the crowd. The fans went nuts, and a young boy got caught up in the melee. The boy ended up falling to the ground, obviously injured. The River Falls Police Department and River Falls Emergency Services were called in response. Gonzalez had departed to conduct a media interview when he learned of what had happened from wide receiver Sergiori Joachim, who also was signing autographs. Gonzalez returned to the snow fence, autographed a football for the boy gave the youngster a high five. Later, Head Coach Herm Edwards stopped by to see what had happened. Complaining of pain in his neck, the youngster was strapped onto a backboard and taken to River Falls Area Hospital. The youngster also left the stadium with Gonzalez’s glove.

Cornerback Dimitri Patterson and kicker Nick Novak talked to small children while walking to the practice fields from Ramer Field.

The In-Zone
He’s a guy of firsts. Quarterback Tyler Thigpen is making his first appearance at the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp after being claimed off waivers from Minnesota last September. The 2007 draft pick was the first ever to be drafted into the NFL from his alma mater, Coastal Carolina. He was also the first Chanticleer to earn concurrent All-American honors in the history of the university.

After being placed on injured reserved in December due to a left knee injury he sustained during practice, Thigpen will not only try to stay healthy, but will try to claim a job as one of the Chiefs’ quarterbacks. Training camp and the preseason will test Thigpen’s ability to produce another sort of first—his first year-long home with a professional football team.

Thigpen holds a degree in sport management. He currently resides in Winnsboro, South Carolina.
His Practice:
It was a slow day for the entire team as it prepared for its first preseason game on Thursday. Thigpen has been performing well and has seen increased playing time with the secondary ahead of quarterback Damon Huard.
He gave outlets passes to tight ends and fullbacks on the south end of Ramer Field.

From the north end of Ramer Field he worked with wide receivers and gave 15-yard passes to the right sideline.
At 4:04 the offense was joined by the defense for a session of 11-on-11. Thigpen worked with the second-string offense.

The offense and defense split up. With the offense staying on Ramer Field, Thigpen started an offensive walkthrough for 15 minutes.
At 4:19 an air horn sounded for another round of 11-on-11. Thigpen played with the secondary again. He took four reps giving three handoffs and completing one pass. Quarterback Brodie Croyle took most of the snaps.
Practice ended at 4:56 and Thigpen spent some time answering questions from the media.

Thigpen's Thoughts:

“I’m excited about the situation and being here with Kansas City.”
“It’s a great feeling just being a back-up quarterback. As a back-up guy, I’ve got to be ready to play and be ready to play physically.”
“You bang heads against each other during camp and then you get a chance to go against another team,” he said of the upcoming preseason game versus the Bears on Thursday.

“Yeah definitely, it’s a dream come true. Who would have thought six years ago when I was in high school I’d be here playing in the NFL.”
Fans
For some of the kids out at camp, nothing would be cooler than getting a real NFL football. Young Jonathan Hakes was wishing just that, as he yelled for wide receiver Dwayne Bowe to throw him a ball. If Jonathan got the ball, he planned on getting as many Chiefs autographs as possible. He would then place the ball in a protective case. Jonathan is a Green Bay Packer fan by trait, but likes watching football in general.

Fans Danny and Tony Tran from Kansas City, Mo., were in the Ramer Field stands at today’s practice. The pair thinks that running back Larry Johnson is going to have a break-out season and bounce back from last season’s disappointment. They were focused on watching the special teams and were curious about who would win the kicker competition between Connor Barth and Nick Novak. They would love to meet Head Coach Herm Edwards before they leave tomorrow.

Lots of fans were out to get autographs. Michael Lakin, age 12, from River Falls has six autographed Chief cards and roughly 20 to 30 more autographs on a football. His favorite player is running back Kolby Smith. Michael and his friends like to come to practice and check out the live action that is provided.

Trevor and Leslie Brooks made the trip to training camp from St. Louis, Mo. The two plan on watching the Chiefs preseason game versus the Chicago Bears on Thursday at a sports bar in either River Falls or Hudson, Wis. They plan on driving back home on Friday morning to go to a family picnic over the weekend. Trevor’s favorite player is wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and Leslie’s is tight end Tony Gonzalez. The highlight of practice to them is watching the first-team offense and defense hit each other.
Rick and Joyce Knowlton from Stillwater, Minn., have made their fifth trip to training camp. They are camping at Hoffman Park and said that they are really enjoying it. Both are very impressed with the park’s facilities. Joyce said, “Every year we come back it seems like there is something new and improved.” When not watching the Chiefs practice, they have been spending their time watching teams play softball at Hoffman. Rick is a retired History teacher and he use to coach woman’s high school softball.

Gale and Cheryl Solum from Bloomer, Wis., came to cheer on the Chiefs. Gale said he switched his favorite NFL team from the Green Bay Packers to the Chiefs about three years ago. He is really happy he is not cheering for the Packers now that quarterback Brett Favre might not be playing for them. Cheryl said that she fell in love with tight end Tony Gonzalez at last year’s camp. She said, “He is just so damn hot.” They will be heading back home tomorrow morning.

Ken and his son Connor Williams from Goplin, Mo., are enjoying Chiefs camp. Connor is slowly but surely getting all the autographs he came up here to get. They came up to River Falls last Saturday and will be heading home tomorrow morning. Both are happy with the weather that they have been experiencing while at camp. When talking about the weather back home Ken said, “It’s hotter than a fire "The Man" down there.” He went on to say “We really love it up here and hope that the Chiefs keep coming up here for camp.” Connor is missing football practice back home while he is at Chiefs camp but feels that watching the Chiefs practice is a good excuse. On his team Connor plays defensive end, running back, and is a kicker.

Keith Rogers from Flint, Mich., is at his tenth Chiefs training camp. He said, “I have been a Chiefs fan all my life. It sure beats the hell out of being a Detroit Lions fan.” Rogers stays with his parents Don and Beth, who live in Chippewa Falls, Wis., while he attends training camp. Rogers’s favorite player is wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Rogers expects Bowe to have a Pro Bowl caliber season.

Valeri Chapman of Omaha, Neb., is spending a week up here, her last day being tomorrow. She came up for training camp last year and had such a great time that she decided to come back. She’s made two different day trips, one to Hudson, Wis., and the other being to Red Wing, Minn. The Copper Kettle, West Wind Supper Club, and South Fork Café all had great food she said. She enjoys the french toast and bacon for breakfast at South Fork Café. She thought the salad bar at the West Wind offered a variety of choices. Her favorite part of camp has been watching practices and getting to know the young players. Her family holds season tickets and she thinks it’s fascinating to see how training camp prepares the players and how much effort it takes to get a professional team ready. She said, “Thank you to the staff and community. It can’t happen without them. The city is friendly and it can’t happen without them.”