[BigRedChief]

Thursday, August 14, 2008: Afternoon Practice
The Chiefs final practice was held in some pretty mild weather. The partly cloudy sky was accompanied by a temperature of 70 degrees. There was a slight two mile per hour wind coming out of the southeast. The humidity was at 92 percent. There were 79 fans in attendance to send the Chiefs off.
Defense
During 11-on-11, cornerback Dimitri Patterson displayed good coverage on wide receiver Bobby Sippio when quarterback Tyler Thigpen threw a bomb down field to Sippio. The ball was catchable, but Patterson's coverage forced the pass to fall incomplete. Quarterback Damon Huard threw a ball down field to Jeff Webb. Rookie cornerback Maurice Leggett fell on the coverage, but was able to get to his feet and dive for the ball. The play landed incomplete, but the sidelines erupted because of Leggett's almost interception.
For one of the first times all training camp, the defense ran their dime play. After seeing limited time with the first-string basic defense, defensive tackle Alfonso Boone spent time running basic with the first-string as well as the nickel.
Offense
The offense only warmed up and walked through plays without pads during practice. Running back Kolby Smith practiced a little with first, but mostly carried the ball with second-string during the 11-on-11 drill.
Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe lit up the practice field with the intensity that only a man who is about to return home possesses. Bowe made a pair of leaping catches in the end zone during the first-string’s second set in the 11-on-11.
Quarterbacks Tyler Thigpen and Damon Huard switched off with second and third-strings once again today; but it would appear that Thigpen will be the team’s backup when they break camp tomorrow.
The offense started the 11-on-11 drill by mixing it up and running an end-around with wide receiver Devard Darling. Darling took the handoff and turned upfield for a modest gain.
The final practice was definitely not the most intense practice of training camp but overall the offense has come a long way. The Chiefs’ offense looks markedly better than 2007 and practiced with a lot of intensity throughout training camp as it learned the new scheme.
Special Teams
By 11:22 special teams began a punt return drill. Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer led the energy of the drill. It seemed to rub off on the players. There were three strings that ran through the drill. The strings rotated reps quickly. Running back Dantrell Savage and kick return specialist B.J. Sams took turns returning the ball. Punter Dustin Colquitt got in some reps kicking punts from the minus 40-yard line, something that he hasn’t done too much of. The team has been utilizing a Juggs machine in his place. The drill was run at half-speed for eight minutes.
With seven minutes left on the clock, a kickoff return drill began. Kicker Connor Barth kicked with the first unit and kicker Nick Novak, the second. The return team wore yellow skull caps and the cover team defended for 15 yards. The focus was put on being in the appropriate lane. “Squeeze, find the ball,” said Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer.
Kickers Nick Novak and Connor Barth both made their three field goal attempts. They kicked from the left 25 and 30-yard lines and from the right hash on the 35-yard line. Novak kicked first, Barth second.
Herm Edwards Press Conference
Head Coach Herm Edwards spoke with media after practice. At the end of this year's camp, Edwards feels that his football team is going to be a physical one. Over the course of these past weeks, Edwards said the offense, the defense and the special teams coaches each instilled toughness in their squads. Toughness is something Edwards strives for, so he's very pleased with the coaching staff's eagerness to instill it.
As far as who will play in Saturday's preseason game, Edwards says defensive end Turk McBride will be good to go. Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey will be okay, but the coaches will decide during warm-ups on Saturday if he will play or not. If Dorsey does see time, it will be limited to make sure his knee heals the best it can. Rookie running back Jamaal Charles won't be playing due to a sore shoulder. Safety Jon McGraw will also not be suiting up. Lastly, offensive tackle Damion McIntosh will be okay to play on Saturday as well.
When asked if he liked River Falls, Edwards said he does. The people are always nice to everyone the team brings up. Edwards said that he couldn't say if the team would be back next year or not. "That's not up to me. That's up to the higher-ups," he said.
Extra Extra...
On their way on to the field, quarterbacks Tyler Thigpen and Damon Huard belted out Kid Rock's latest song, "All Summer Long."
Defensive end Tamba Hali, defensive tackle Tank Tyler and tight end Michael Allan gave high-fives to fans before practice.
Bits of athletic tape laid on the sideline of Ramer Field as Herm Edwards was heard asking why the field was so wet since it hadn’t rained. Someone else replied that is was because the sun had only just come out.
Fans said hi to running back Dantrell Savage thinking it was running back Jamaal Charles. They asked suppose-to-be Charles if they could get a picture and autograph after practice. Savage just shook his head and kept walking. Right after, another fan nearby said, “Just to let you know, that wasn’t Jamaal Charles.”
At 11:12 an air horn sounded for a special teams stretch led by Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Brent Salazar on the north end of Ramer Field.
President Carl Peterson and Vice President Denny Thum were both present at the final practice today.
Practice ended at 12:22.
River Falls’ Mayor Don Richards was present at practice. He shook hands with President Carl Peterson and Vice President Denny Thum. He was there to present tight end Tony Gonzalez with an award for saving a man’s life in California. Gonzalez came over to Richards, Mary Halada, Gary and Emogene Thibodeau and Larry Testa after practice to shake hands. Gonzalez said, “Thank you. I appreciate it. I think anybody in my situation would have done the same. I really appreciate it.” Richards replied, “I know George and Laura Bush called you and Barack Obama called you, but it’s not the same until the River Falls mayor presents you with an award.” Gonzalez was very appreciative of the community’s thoughtfulness.
Fans
Bill and Julie Baker from Ellsworth, Wis., enjoyed cheering the Chiefs on at their last practice of their 2008 Summer Training Camp. This is the fourth time in the last six years that the Baker’s have attended training camp. Bill said he became a Chiefs fan about six years ago when they first watched the Chiefs practice. He said, “I didn’t really like the Vikings so I jumped at the opportunity to cheer for the Chiefs.” Bill’s favorite player is tight end Tony Gonzalez. Julie’s favorite is running back Larry Johnson.
Buck Thompson from Cameron, Wis., enjoyed eating lunch while watching the Chiefs practice. Thompson has watched multiple practices this summer. Each time he makes a complete day out of it, including eating a packed lunch. He said, “I wanted to come watch the Chiefs one last time.” This is the third year in a row that Thompson has come to training camp. He said that he hopes the Chiefs keep coming to River Falls every summer.
Tyler Ziarnik and James Jones from Whitehall, Wis., came and watched the Chiefs’ final practice. Both are Packer fans but said that Green Bay is too far to drive. Jones said that his second favorite team is the Chiefs. This is the fourth year that both have attended camp. Ziarnik’s favorite Chief is tight end Tony Gonzalez and Jones’s favorite is defensive tackle Tank Tyler. Jones said that he likes him because of the HBO show “Hard Knocks” not featured the team’s training camp last year.
Prescott, Wis., residents made the short drive to Ramer Field today to catch the last practice of camp. George and Heidi Kasper both enjoy watching football on Sundays, and often have family and neighborhood barbeques when the Minnesota Vikings play the Green Bay Packers. The two have a nine-year old boy Justin, but he was at summer camp this afternoon. They expect the Chiefs to be an average team this season, and may surprise some teams if they can mold together.
Chiefs fans are spread around the country and many devoted fans reside right here in Wisconsin. Troy, Amanda and Taylor Frederick from Eau Claire, Wis., were in attendance for their fourth year in a row. Troy said, “Their so young, and need to develop their picks. After I looked at the schedule I can see them picking up seven wins. Three years from now they will be on top of their game.” The knowledgeable fan also thinks that defensive tackle Glen Dorsey will be a good replace for the huge loss of defensive end Jared Allen. He also said the team has a strong linebacker core overall, and has speed and ability on defense to be good all together.
Fans that traveled to Minneapolis, Minn., to visit a friend were at camp for the first time ever. Dan, his wife and his two boys Joseph, age 9, and Kyle Sinnott, age 10, were all at the practice with Josh, a family friend. The group is from southern Iowa, and was here to grab some autographs. They all are fans of tight end Tony Gonzalez. Dan snapped pictures of the star player. A few years ago the family saw a Chiefs game against the Seattle Seahawks that the Chiefs ended up winning. The kids all said they were having fun at practice.