[BigRedChief]

Wednesday, August 13, 2008: Afternoon Practice
The second to last Chiefs practice for their 18 summer training camp was a pleasant one. The sky was partly cloudy and the temperature was 77 degrees. There was a 6 mile per hour wind coming out of the northwest and the humidity was at 46 percent. There were 78 fans in attendance.

Defense
Defensive ends Turk McBride, Trevor Johnson, and Brian Johnston; linebackers Donnie Edwards and Napoleon Harris; and safety Jon McGraw didn’t participate in practice.
The linebackers started their drills on the five-man sled. Linebacker Derrick Johnson was the first man up, and on the second sled, Johnson broke the pad off the metal support. His teammates cheered, but Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Gunther Cunningham simply moved the group to the hanging dummy and said, “you can break everything we’ve got. We ain’t quitting.” In addition to the dummy Johnson busted, the defensive backs managed to break two pads off their sled as well.

On the way back into Ramer Field, linebackers Donnie Edwards and Napoleon Harris chitchatted with rookie linebacker LeRue Rumph. Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Gunther Cunningham wasn’t pleased. “Let’s not have a frickin’ party back there,” he shouted to the men. Rumph ran ahead, and Harris ran to give Cunningham some gruff. Cunningham told Harris not to baby Rumph. “Don’t kiss his (butt), or I’ll kick yours,” he said. He repeatedly told Harris, “I’m the coach. You’re the player.” Edwards hung back behind Harris and Cunningham and chuckled to himself.

During 11-on-11, defensive end Tamba Hali, defensive tackle Alfonso Boone and linebacker Derrick Johnson stormed at quarterback Brodie Croyle. Croyle was forced to slide behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of yardage on the play. After a big tackle on running back Jamaal Charles, Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie yelled, “wrap him up. Put him into next week.” Defensive tackle T.J. Jackson was impressed with the play. He yelled and cheered as he came out of the pile.

Rookie cornerback Brandon Carr followed wide receiver Dwayne Bowe well on a pass from quarterback Brodie Croyle. Carr managed to cover Bowe well enough to force an incompletion. Safety Jarrad Page was also in on the play. Later, Croyle threw a long ball to Bowe who was covered by rookie cornerback Brandon Flowers. Though close, the ball fell incomplete. Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Gunther Cunningham liked what he saw. He said to Flowers, “good cover. Good cover.” Safety Bernard Pollard delivered a huge hit on running back Kolby Smith. The crowd gasped and cheered after the play. Later, Pollard cheered on cornerback Rashad Barksdale when he showed great coverage on a receiver. “That’s the way, Barks. Way to push him around,” said Pollard.

Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie yelled at rookie defensive end Johnny Dingle. “He’s a fullback. You’re a defensive linemen. Be tough. Hit him.”
Defensive tackle Alfonso Boone hadn’t practiced with the first string defense in a while, but this afternoon he was back in the lineup with the first unit. Boone had a big tackle on running back Jamaal Charles for a loss, as well as an assist on a sack of quarterback Brodie Croyle. Also seeing time with the first string again was defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. Dorsey was the only Chief on the field who had his game pants on; the rest were in shorts. This was to add extra protection to Dorsey’s healing left knee.

After practice, Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham made a few comments about the defense. Cunningham said that he’s impressed with linebacker Weston Dacus, who Cunningham says is really athletic. “He sort of came out of no where,” Cunningham said. Overall, Cunningham said he’s not disappointed with the linebackers’ play. When asked about the intensity of the defensive coaches, Cunningham said that Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie, Defensive Backs Coach David Gibbs and Cunningham are all hardcore. Cunningham says that everyone is aware of how loud they can be. “It’s a matter of seeing who’s the biggest psychopath.” Cunningham laughed and said that Gibbs was a psychology major, so he can be trickier, and Krumrie is just scary. “He even scares me sometimes,” Cunningham said.

Offense
Running backs Dantrell Savage and Kolby Smith took approximately 75 percent of the carries during the 11-on-11 drill. Smith worked with the first-team for the majority of the time while Savage worked with the second and third-strings.

Before the 11-on-11, running was taken over by Savage and Smith, running back Larry Johnson carried the ball with the first-string a handful of times. Johnson looked good as he hit holes and broke through lines showcasing the power-type running that has made him one of the elite backs in the league.

Running back Jamaal Charles also carried the ball a few times with all three strings. On one run with the third-string, Charles found his way through a small hole and then put his head down and rammed into defensive backs Dimitri Patterson and Brandon Carr rather than running out of bounds.

Quarterback Brodie Croyle finished the 11-on-11 completing 7-13 passes. More interestingly than Croyle’s plays with his arm were his plays with his legs; Croyle ran a couple of quarterback keepers and even split out wide once when running back Larry Johnson took a direct snap.
Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe caught a pass going across the middle of the field from Croyle and then made his way through the secondary, making a couple of nice moves. Bowe also impressed on another play by ditching the cornerback jam at the line of scrimmage and streaking down the sidelines to catch a pass from quarterback Damon Huard for a 25-yard touchdown.

Huard may not have the arm strength he once possessed, but he still has the accuracy, completing 4-5 passes during the 11-on-11. Huard showcased that accuracy by threading a pass to wide receiver Maurice Price across the middle of the field for a 19-yard completion few quarterbacks would have made.

Wide Receivers Coach Eric Price noticed wide receiver Dwayne Bowe on another play, not for making a nice catch, but for missing a block on a quarterback Brodie Croyle bootleg. Price hollered: “Block him Bowe, Bowe block him” after the conclusion of the play when Bowe missed a blocking assignment.

The coaches were extremely vocal during the last full practice in River Falls. But it was tight end Tony Gonzalez who was vocal on one specific play that really got the crowd into the practice. Gonzalez appeared to have just caught a 25-yard pass from quarterback Brodie Croyle when the sideline referee ruled that Gonzalez had not gotten both feet down. Gonzalez screamed: “Ah hell no, I swear you’re wrong on that”—among other things—at the referee, eliciting a cheerful agreement from the fans in the stands.

Special Teams
At 3:37 special teams began a short slow-speed kickoff return drill. A Juggs machine was put on the minus 40-yard line and took the place of kickers actually kicking the ball. Kickers Nick Novak and Connor Barth worked on their approaches instead. The return team worked on keeping the wedge tight and opening up the appropriate lanes for the returners.
For seven minutes the punt return unit ran through a drill that emphasized the technique for blocking the cover team—which was instructed to cover for 10 yards—and keeping opponents out of the middle of the field. Punter Dustin Colquitt simulated punts as a Juggs machine spit out punts to running back Dantrell Savage and kick return specialist B.J. Sams who took turns on the return. Safety Bernard Pollard and cornerback Brandon Flowers joined the first punt return unit for some reps, something they don’t normally do.

Extra Extra...
At 3:27 an air horn sounded. A quiet, lackadaisical team gathered on the north end of Ramer Field for warm ups. In the meantime, dark grey thunder clouds filled the sky to the southwest of the field. Players were heard saying, “That don’t look good.”
The offense and defense split up for position drills at 3:52. The offense stayed on Ramer Field while the defense moved to the practice fields outside the stadium.

A half-hour before practice fans were standing in the designated autograph area near Ramer Field waiting to say “hi” to players. The only player one couple was able to get a picture with was linebacker Derrick Johnson.
Belger Cartage Service trucks were parked in the Ramer Field Sports Complex lot waiting to be filled with the rest of the Chiefs equipment and gear Thursday.

Cornerback Brandon Flowers, Tyron Brackenridge and Maurice Leggett joked and laughed while walking to Ramer Field.
Truck drivers walked around during practice finishing up several odds and ends. A few of them were leaving tonight after getting the sleds loaded onto the trucks. They’re in charge of loading and unloading the big trucks for the team’s equipment. They’ll meet the team at the airport Friday once it arrives in Kansas City. They also meet the visiting team at the airport to unload its trucks before game day.

Kids chanted “Tony! Tony!” as tight end Tony Gonzalez was doing warm-ups on practice field three.
Radio announcers could be heard dissecting the Chiefs’ defense on the south side of the practice fields.
While some of the defensive line was walking to Ramer Field, Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham heard some complaints about players being tired. Cunningham responded, “You’re tired?! I’m 100 years old and I’m not tired!”

Vice President Denny Thum was present during practice today. He was on the fields shortly after practice started and talked to several Chiefs personnel including Associate Director of Public Relation Pete Moris and Manager of Football Information Brad Kuhbander.
Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson spoke with several Chiefs personnel and Head Coach Herm Edwards.
The training tent has almost been completely emptied except for a couple of metal benches and garbage cans.
Members of the media from Kansas City, Mo., were jubilant on the sidelines during practice. They cracked jokes and laughed as they watched the practice.

Disassembled field goal posts laid off to the side of practice field one and were ready to be loaded onto a flatbed trailer parked nearby.
Practice ended at 5:13.
Players signed autographs and gave away their gloves after practice. Players included in autographing were: quarterbacks Tyler Thigpen, Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle; wide receivers Jabari Arthur, Kevin McMahan and Devard Darling; cornerbacks Patrick Surtain; running backs Jackie Battle and Larry Johnson; safeties Jarrad Page and Jon McGraw; linebackers Demorrio Williams, Weston Dacus and LeRue Rumph; defensive tackles Glenn Dorsey and Tank Tyler; offensive tackle Damion McIntosh; tight end John Paul Foschi; and defensive end Turk McBride.

Fans
Randy and Jill Books from Barron Wis., cheered on the Chiefs for their first time. They were very excited to be able to watch practice up close. Randy said, “I have been to the Vikings’ camp and I never got this close to the players.” Randy said that he is a football fan in general, so he likes to be able to get close and hear what goes on at a training camp. Both Jill and Randy plan on coming tomorrow to send the Chiefs off.
Erik Anderson from River Falls, Wis., came to Chiefs practice hoping to get some autographs and maybe even some players’ gloves. Erik played catch with his buddies while waiting for practice to get over so he could talk to the players. Yesterday, Erik got his yellow Chiefs football signed by wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Bowe also just happens to be Erik’s favorite player.

Dan Mortenson from Hudson, Wis., came to watch the Chiefs practice. Dan was really impressed with the fields that the team practiced on. He said, “These are the best facilities I have ever seen. Most teams would love to have three practice fields in a row.” This is the fifth year in a row that Mortenson has come and watched the Chiefs practice. He said he hopes that they come to River Falls next summer so he can continue watching them. Mortenson’s favorite player is tight end Tony Gonzalez.
“Why couldn’t the Chiefs be a 9-7 team and make the playoffs?” asked Rachael Stanton. Stanton, and her husband Terry are residents of the Kansas City, Mo., area and have supported the Chiefs for their whole lives. They said that this year was going to be a rebuilding year, but the Chiefs had a strong draft, so the team should still have a good season. Terry is a huge fan of the cornerback tandem of Patrick Surtain and Brandon Flowers, and thinks they could shut down a lot of opponents. The only area of the team the two showed some concern about is with the young offensive line. The couple has been here since last weekend and plan to head back home right after today’s practice. They are already checked out of their hotel room and ready for the long trip home.

Nick, with his boys Austin, 16, and Matthew Matten, seven, watched the padded practice from the top of the Ramer Field bleachers. The family is from Hudson, Wis., have watched a few practices in each of the last three summers. Nick played high school football in the Twin Cities and his love for football has rubbed off on his sons. Both of them play on football teams for their respected age groups. Austin loves to play quarterback and models his game after Brett Favre, where Matthew likes to play running back. The two boys will be attempting to add to their autograph football at the end of practice.

Damien Ellis’, a student at Meyer Middle School in River Falls, sole purpose at Chiefs’ camp today was to get some autographs. The young boy had a pair of Chiefs gloves, a few photos and some football cards. He said that his older brother, Dave, has running back Larry Johnson’s autograph, but he hasn’t gotten Johnson’s signature - yet. The boys have been at the practice fields five times and want to come back tomorrow. Dave is a student at River Falls High School.