[Coogs]

And the river falls update...

Tuesday, August 11: Afternoon Practice

It was a very hot and sunny afternoon practice, and there were only a few clouds in the distance. It was 81 degrees with the a little breeze every once in awhile at two miles-per-hour towards the south-southwest. The humidity was 40 percent with the dew point at 55.

It was another steamy day at out on the Chiefs practice field. The 15th practice was attended by nearly 100 dedicated fans who, with the help of water and umbrellas, endured through the hot summer sun.

Offense

Running back Jamaal Charles was back to practice today after sitting out the last two days. Inactive for the offense were running back Kolby Smith and offensive linemen Wade Smith and Tavares Washington.

Tackle Branden Albert left practice with a trainer about 20 minutes into the session. Albert would return seven minutes later. During one-on-one blocking drills, Albert was off to the side on a knee.
During the team’s 7-on-7 drill on field 1, quarterback Matt Cassel overthrew wide receiver Mark Bradley in the end zone. Later, in a second-and-six situation, cornerback Ricky Price showed leadership skills when he hollered the situation to his teammates. Quarterback Tyler Thigpen threw a pass to wide receiver Jeff Webb. Price was on the cover, and when he tackled Webb, the ball popped loose. There was speculation about the play being a fumble, but Head Coach Todd Haley didn’t dwell on the play, and the team moved on to the next situation.

The team then moved 7-on-7 to field 2. Quarterback Tyler Thigpen had a good throw to wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Bowe was able to make the catch between two defensive backs and a linebacker. Later, quarterback Matt Cassel had a completion to wide receiver Terrance Copper. Cornerback Brandon Carr was there to make the quick stop. Carr drove Copper back several yards before the play was whistled dead.

At the sound of the horn, the offense and defense split up between fields 1 and 2. The defense worked on getting off the line of scrimmage, which was represented by a yellow band on the field. The offense worked on a similar drill. During the drill, Head Coach Todd Haley was frustrated with the lack of effort put in by running back Dantrell Savage. “You’re not running, Savage,” Haley yelled multiple times.

When the team was running a drill on the south end of field 1, running back Javarris Williams lost his shoe. He completed the play to the end zone before returning back about 15 yards to pick up his shoe.

Receiver Dwayne Bowe had a rough time catching the ball in traffic today. Once again, the team ran the drill where the coaches were hitting the receivers with hand shields the moment they caught the ball. Bowe was forced to repeat the drill multiple times but was unable to come up with a catch. Wide Receivers Coach Dedric Ward finally had enough and moved on.

Offensive Line Coach Bill Muir was getting frustrated with a group of offensive linemen when they were working on pass blocking against the defensive line. “I am (freaking) tired of you peoples’ (crap)!” Muir said.

While the rest of the offensive and defensive lines were doing one-on-one drills, tackles Cameron Goldberg and Herb Taylor were off doing separate drills matched up against linebackers Vince Redd and Pierre Walters.

Special Teams

Kicker Ryan Succop was perfect during the kicking portion of today’s practice. Succop hit from 36, 37, 40 and 44 yards. The kick from 44 yards was from the left hash; all others were straight on.

Wide receivers Quinten Lawrence and Rodney Wright were responsible for all of the punt returns in today’s practice.

Kicker Ryan Succop worked on his on-side kicks this afternoon. He was struggling getting the ball to carry at least 10 yards early in the drills, but after about 10 minutes he started to get the hang of it and made some very decent kicks.

Defense

Linebacker Zach Thomas and cornerback DaJuan Morgan were the only inactive defensive players during this afternoon’s practice.

Linebacker Demorrio Williams saw his first action this afternoon. Williams had been inactive during training camp thus far after failing Head Coach Todd Haley’s physical and conditioning test. Williams has been working out on different equipment with Chiefs Strength and Conditioning Coach Cedric Smith.

While the rest of the team was running 7-on-7 situations, the defensive and offensive linemen worked one-on-one on blocking. Defensive end Dion Gales and defensive tackle Derek Lokey jumped offsides during the drill and had to run the length of field 1.

During the team’s 11-on-11 drill, Head Coach Todd Haley complimented the defense on their quarterback pressures and would-be sacks. “Good job, D,” he said. “Get rid of the ball, quarterbacks.” Later, quarterback Tyler Thigpen fumbled the snap. Defensive tackle Tank Tyler and running back Jackie Battle wrestled around on the ground for the football. Tyler eventually pried it away from Battle. As Tyler lay on the ground, nodding his head, defensive end Tyson Jackson hollered from the sidelines, “I see you, Tank. I see you, 9-3.”

Defensive end Alfonso Boone knocked down two passes in a row during the team’s 11-on-11 work today. Both passes were attempted by quarterback Matt Cassel. When the second-team offense took the field, defensive end Tyson Jackson was able to get his hand on a Tyler Thigpen pass.

While the team was working on late game defensive situations, Head Coach Todd Haley tricked the defense. After an incomplete pass, Haley turned to the defense with his hands in the form of a “T,” signaling for them to call a timeout. The entire defense immediately erupted in calls for a timeout. Haley then yelled at them for trying to call a timeout after an incompletion.

Defensive ends Tyson Jackson and Alex Magee had a short workout after practice with Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie. The defenders worked on their one-on-one blocking skills while getting off of the blocker. It was apparent that the heat was taking its toll on some of the big men today, and both players looked very tired when the workout was completed. After finishing both men walked to the fan section to sign autographs for adoring onlookers.

Todd Haley Press Conference

Head Coach Todd Haley called today “the warmest one-a-day.” Haley mentioned that this finally felt like training camp weather.

A lot of the conference focused around the wide receivers. Haley was a wide receivers coach before he became the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals. “I look at wide receivers as more than just pass catchers. They must be football players, first and foremost.” Haley was asked about receiver Dwayne Bowe’s spot on the third-team. “I don’t think there is anything set in stone. Some positions are more obvious than others, but I don’t think wide receiver is one of those," Haley said.

Haley then went on to talk about drops at the receiver position. “It's OK to drop a ball; drops are going to happen. But what I want them doing is priding themselves on the tough catch, the ones where the linebacker is hitting them in the mouth,” Haley said.

Haley commented on two wide receivers that he thinks are doing a good job, Terrence Copper and Rodney Wright.“I think Terrence Copper is a guy that you know that you are going to get a good day's work from him everyday. Copper impresses me,” Haley said of the six-year veteran from East Carolina. Haley had a few comments about Wright as well, saying, “He works hard. Everyday hasn’t been perfect, but he is making strides.”