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[BigRedChief]

http://www.uwrf.edu/chiefs/prev_upda...07-25-08am.htm

Thursday, July 24, 2008: Chiefs First Practice Indoors

It was a wet start to the 2008 Kansas Chiefs Summer Training Camp. Grey clouds dropped rain that completely saturated the practice fields with water. The rain forced the Chiefs indoors to the Knowles Center for their first practice.The temperature was 72 degrees with a slight southwest wind at 7 miles per hour with an overall humidity of 90 percent.

Head Coach Herm Edwards walked into the lobby of the facility to keep an eye on the weather.While players waited for practice to begin they tossed around a football. Shouts of encouragement among the players were heard all around. Boxes of shoes, towel baskets and storage containers lined the track around the courts the Chiefs had their walkthrough on.

Offense

Running back Larry Johnson took all of the handoffs with the first stringers running behind a new offensive line. First round draft pick Branden Albert was in on every first string snap at left guard. Brian Waters was at let tackle, Adrian Jones was at right tackle and Damion McIntosh was at right guard with the first unit. Third-year center Rudy Niswanger snapped for the first stringers to round out the Chiefs’ first practice offensive line.Second-year wide receiver Dwayne Bowe caught three of quarterback Brodie Croyle’s throws. Croyle completed 15-16 passes, finding veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez seven times.

Wide receiver Devard Darling joined Bowe with the first-string offense, with wide receivers Maurice Price, Bobby Sippio, Jeff Webb, and Will Franklin rotating in on three-wide receiver sets.

Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe seemed almost giddy during the first practice as he tossed a football around with other players while taking his turn playing defense when the third string offense was walking through plays. He and tight end Tony Gonzalez also stayed after and played catch with linebacker Donnie Edwards for a couple of minutes. Bowe made a final appearance after the morning session when he walked up to the podium prior to Head Coach Herm Edwards’ press conference. He was laughing as he left the podium as the media heckled him.

Defense

The media was confined to a small area in the southeast corner of Knowles complex. The offense was on the nearest side to the media, making it difficult to track what the defense was up to.

Tamba Hali and Ron Edwards were two of the defensive linemen who saw quality time during the mock-snap drills. Rookie DaJuan Morgan was also seeing some first-string time in the safety position. Throughout the practice, the defense seemed more leisure than the offense, primarily focusing on one drill, using only two strings of players.

Special Teams

The special teams punt unit worked on blocking the punt after a portion of the team was released to the locker rooms at a quarter to eleven. Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer gave the players energetic instruction. “If we can’t get our depth, we can’t block anybody,” he exclaimed. Punter Dustin Colquitt took multiple snaps from long snapper Jean-Philippe Darche as players worked on blocking technique on the left and right sides. “Protect the block spot, “said Priefer, “Nice job men, you’re getting the concept.”

Extra, Extra...

UW-River Falls Falcon Foods employee Fritz Jumpp hadn’t seen anybody at the concession stand at Ramer Field due to the weather. Pam Cochran of Rolla, Mo. and her family made the 12-hour journey for today’s practice. “We just got up here and they said it was cancelled,” she said with disappointment.