****The Official 2009 Training Camp Update Thread****

[DaWolf]

Figure we might as well have one?

http://www.bobgretz.com/
http://www.uwrf.edu/chiefs/prev_updates.php
http://www.kcchiefs.com/default.asp
http://chiefsblog.kansascity.com/
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/
http://twitter.com/kb_kcstar
http://twitter.com/brandoncarr
http://kan.scout.com/
http://www.arrowheadpride.com/
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/page/KC

[The Franchise]

– RT Damion McIntosh was on the field, but when the Chiefs No. 1 offense ran in the team work portion of practice Herb Taylor was with the first unit.

Uh oh.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

– RT Damion McIntosh was on the field, but when the Chiefs No. 1 offense ran in the team work portion of practice Herb Taylor was with the first unit.

.

good to see that they are trying like hell to find someone to replace mac

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Bob Gretz

the star was Tyler Thigpen at two of two

He's really lighting those mother****ers up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Bad Guy]

You know what's telling over prior years - the amount of injuries. Every year it seems we have a Mash unit on the sidelines because they get hurt in TC.

Not this year and this has been a much more physical camp.

You can attribute this to Haley's conditioning program. Herm and Vermeil didn't give 2 shits about being strict about conditioning and you could see it in the 4th quarter of games.

(knock on wood of course).

I mother f'n love Todd Haley.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

You know what's telling over prior years - the amount of injuries. Every year it seems we have a Mash unit on the sidelines because they get hurt in TC.

Not this year and this has been a much more physical camp.

You can attribute this to Haley's conditioning program. Herm and Vermeil didn't give 2 shits about being strict about conditioning and you could see it in the 4th quarter of games.

(knock on wood of course).

I mother f'n love Todd Haley.

This.

[Sully]

That's awesome, having Bavaro there. I loved that guy.

[tomahawk kid]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

You know what's telling over prior years - the amount of injuries. Every year it seems we have a Mash unit on the sidelines because they get hurt in TC.

Not this year and this has been a much more physical camp.

You can attribute this to Haley's conditioning program. Herm and Vermeil didn't give 2 shits about being strict about conditioning and you could see it in the 4th quarter of games.

(knock on wood of course).

I mother f'n love Todd Haley.

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

Camp Practice Update 8/12 A.M.
August 12, 2009 - Bob Gretz |

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Todd Haley threw his team a bone on Wednesday morning when he cut back on the practice time, putting the Chiefs through their shortest session of camp so far: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

“I thought it was crisp, I thought we got a lot done,” said Haley of the practice that went down in full pads under sunny and hot weather conditions here at UW-River Falls. “Overall I thought it was a pretty good morning, pretty competitive and I think the offense picked it up a bit. They made some tough plays from a couple different positions. It was a good start to the day.”

There were big name visitors watching the practice. NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith was there with three other union officials, including former Chiefs safety and Raytown South product Jason Belser. Also in camp for the rest of the week and working with the tight ends is former Giants TE Mark Bavaro.

“He’s a guy I’ve gotten to know over the years and he’s one of my favorite football players of all time,” said Haley. “I’m excited about having him in here to work with the tight ends. He can bring a lot to them.”

More from the morning workout:

– Six players were on bike patrol in the No Man’s Land: S DaJuan Morgan, Gs Wade Smith and Tavares Washington, ILB Zach Thomas, TE Jake O’Connell and RB Kolby Smith.

– RT Damion McIntosh was on the field, but when the Chiefs No. 1 offense ran in the team work portion of practice Herb Taylor was with the first unit.

– On special teams the Chiefs worked on the on-side kick. The No. 1 team for that situation is Bernard Pollard, Brandon Carr, Brandon Flowers, Jarrad Page, Terrance Copper, Derrick Johnson, Andy Studebaker, Turk McBride, Jackie Battle and Mark Bradley.

– Chiefs offense picked things up in the blitz drill, as all four quarterbacks got throws and they went 11 of 15 for the session. Brodie Croyle was on fire, hitting four of his five throws. Matt Cassel was four of six, while the star was Tyler Thigpen at two of two, including one dart that he completed to WR Taurus Johnson that excited Haley. “Way to go Tyler, way to go,” Haley yelled.

– Flowers seemed to be everywhere on defense, but he dropped two interceptions.

Wonder if the Union was there as a result of someone complaning about Haley's practice style......

[The Bad Guy]

Originally Posted by tomahawk kid

Wonder if the Union was there as a result of someone complaning about Haley's practice style......

I highly doubt it.

I bet it's more of a meet and greet session. I know he was at Eagles camp last week.

[Mr. Arrowhead]

– RT Damion McIntosh was on the field, but when the Chiefs No. 1 offense ran in the team work portion of practice Herb Taylor was with the first unit.

Good news, the more time sackinshit is on the bench the better.

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

9:55 AM - WR Amani Toomer drew some praise from Coach Haley yesterday and he made another two solid grabs this morning. The highlight was an outstanding grab in traffic on a deep crossing route, while being well covered. These are the types of things that Haley said he wants his receivers to take pride in.

10:05 AM - QB Matt Cassel seemed to have a nice red zone 7-on-7 period, finding the end zone on several occations (two to WR Terrance Copper and one to WR Devard Darling).

10:28 AM - Practice concludes a bit earlier this AM with a competitive 11-v-11 two-minute period. The first-team defense won the day’s first battle when CB Brandon Carr knocked down a pass in the end zone. During second-team drills, WR Amani Toomer made his third nice grab of the day coming down with a jump ball between two defenders.

IMO, this is exactly what Bowe needs to go along with his demotion. Guys that have been elevated in front of him performing in those spots. Without that, there is no urgency so to speak for Bowe to think he needs to step it up.

[tomahawk kid]

Originally Posted by Mr. Arrowhead

Good news, the more time sackinshit is on the bench the better.

QFT.

The guy never wanted to play RT, and it shows.

At least it seems like Herbie has some desire.

[Coogs]

I knew Haley said they may do different things this season with regards to who is coaching what, but I got to admit Chan Gailey taking over as DC midway through training camp... I didn't see that one comming.


from the river falls site...

http://www.uwrf.edu/chiefs/prev_upda...s=090812am.htm

For a morning practice, it was really hot and sticky. The sky was bright blue with only a few clouds in the sky. The temperature started at 70 degrees at 9 a.m. with a dewpoint of 63. There was 78 percent humidity, and the wind was headed to the south-southwest at three miles-per-hour. By time practice ended around 10:30 a.m., it was about 81 degrees out.

Defense

Cornerback DaJuan Morgan was the only inactive defensive player during this morning’s practice. Linebacker Zach Thomas was on the stationary bikes at the beginning of practice. By 10:00 a.m., Thomas was off the bikes and not on any of the practice fields.

At the sound of the horn, the team got together on field 2. The ball was placed on the 40-yard line, and the offense was headed north. The drill was run to practice blitzing. One of the first plays of the drill was a pass from quarterback Matt Cassel intended for tight end Brad Cottam. Linebacker Derrick Johnson was able to come over the top of Cottam and know the ball down. Defensive Coordinator Chan Gailey was pleased, saying, “Good job. Good job, Derrick.”

The team ran a situation drill. The drill was two minutes long, and there were 30 seconds on the clock. Seeing time with the first-string defense were safeties Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page, cornerbacks Brandon Carr, Maurice Leggett and Brandon Flowers, linebackers Corey Mays, Mike Vrabel, Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson, defensive ends Alex Magee and Tyson Jackson.

During 7-on-7, cornerback Londen Fryar and linebacker Jovan Belcher both were able to knock down passes.

On an intense first down situation during an 11-on-11 drill, Defensive Coordinator Chan Gailey was hollering, “Keep them out of the end zone.” Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie joined Gailey, shouting, “Let’s go, D-line. Let’s go. Time to rush.” After the first down play, the ball was whistled dead, and the offense huddled. The defense felt the offense was taking longer than allowed, and several players were hollering for a delay of game call. Following the confusion, cornerback Brandon Flowers knocked a quarterback Matt Cassel pass to receiver Terrance Copper out of the air. Cassel’s next pass was a completion to Copper, which brought up first down from the 20-yard line. During the first down, cornerback Brandon Carr swatted down Cassel’s pass to Copper in the end zone. Head Coach Todd Haley was pleased with Carr’s smart decision. “That’s a smart play, Brandon,” Haley said. “Way to knock it down. Now, that’s a smart play.”

Rookie and newly signed defensive end Tyson Jackson worked one-on-one with Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie after practice.

Special Teams

The team worked collectively on field 2 on onside kicks. Kicker Ryan Succop had practiced the kicks on his own during Tuesday’s practice.

Offense

The inactive players for the offense included: running back Kolby Smith, tight end Jake O’Connell and offensive linemen Wade Smith and Tavares Washington. Tackle Damion McIntosh started working with the team then left to join the guys in, “No Man’s Land,” “Camp Pendelton,” or “Rehab Zone,” as it’s been called.

The running backs spent sometime working on catching low thrown balls. The players did a nice job catching the throws.

Quarterback Matt Cassel threw a lot of balls during the team’s 7-on-7 Red zone drill today. Cassel threw six times on his first stint, completing all the passes. Receiver Terrance Copper hauled in four of those, including a touchdown. When Cassel came back into the drill, he threw six more times. He completed his first four including a touchdown to receiver Devard Darling. His last two attempts fell incomplete. Both were fade routes. Receiver Amani Toomer and Cassel got crossed up on the final play, because Cassel threw the fade and Toomer ran a comeback.Quarterback Brodie Croyle then entered the drill and completed five of six passes. However, most of his completions would have been hotly contested had there been a defensive line present. His only pass of over five yards was an incompletion to receiver Mark Bradley. Next up was quarterback Tyler Thigpen. Thigpen went 2-4 with a touchdown.

During a drill from the 40-yard line, quarterback Brodie Croyle had a throw that was too outside for wide receiver Dwayne Bowe to grab. Head Coach Todd Haley thought the defense could have been able to come away with the ball. He said, “We’ve got to hit that. We’ve got to hit that, D.” On Croyle’s next pass, another incompletion to receiver Quinten Lawrence, Haley said, “Quicker, Brodie. Get the ball out quicker.” Croyle was then able to complete a pass to receiver Amani Toomer between three defenders. The Croyle pass would be one of three in a row that went to Toomer. Two balls were from Croyle, and one was from quarterback Tyler Thigpen. Later, quarterback Matt Gutierrez threw an easy ball to receiver Rodney Wright. Wright, however, dropped the pass. Haley was not delighted with the play and hollered, “That’s bull(crap), Rodney. That’s all that is.” Later, Wright got scolded again. A coach along the sidelines shouted, “It’s ain’t a dress rehearsal, Rodney. And it sure ain’t going to be on Saturday.” Saturday, the Chiefs have a preseason game against the Houston Texans.

Quarterback Tyler Thigpen was the second quarterback used during the team’s situational 11-on-11 drill. During Thigpen’s drive, defensive tackle Tank Tyler hit the quarterback’s pass, deflecting it and leaving it short. This brought up third down. On the next play, several defensive men pressured Thigpen in the pocket. Thigpen was able to make a completed pass through the traffic for the first down. As Thigpen ran to the new marker, he shouted, “Clock. Clock. Clock.”

Quarterback Brodie Croyle spoke with reporters for a few minutes following practice. Croyle said that it was nice to be back. “After all that rehab, it’s very rewarding to be back,” he said. Croyle also commented on the different situation he is in this year compared to last. Last year, Croyle came in with a chance to be the starter; this year the Chiefs have 63 million reasons why he won’t (newly signed quarterback Matt Cassel and his $63 million contract).

Tackle Branden Albert spoke with reporters at the conclusion of this morning’s practice. Albert said that he feels very different heading into the 2009 season versus how he felt in 2008. “I feel more advanced,” the second-year tackle from Virginia said. Albert said that he’s working on a different technique this year. “I’m learning to pay attention to little details each play,” he said. When asked if he could see a difference in the team as a whole at training camp this year, Albert simply said that he can see a change in players’ attitudes. Albert is rooming with guard Mike Goff. Albert said that he has a lot of respect for Goff. “He’s a pretty good guy on and off the field,” Albert said. Albert was asked if he could see a difference in coaching this year. Chiefs current head coach, Todd Haley, stems his football knowledge from years of offensive coaching. Former Head Coach Herm Edwards came from a defensive background. Albert said that Haley wants both sides of the ball to do well, and it’s easy to tell that. Albert said that as camp progresses, players are getting more and more antsy to hit each other. “We’ve just got to work hard each day. We can have a mindset to hit. Hitting earns respect amongst our teammates out there,” Albert said. Albert also spent several minutes talking about the respect he has for linebacker Tamba Hali. Hali is a former defensive end and is trying his spot at linebacker for the first time in the 2009 season. Albert said that he often has his hands full, trying to guard Hali. “Working against him is only going to help me get better against speedy guys,” Albert said. Albert said that he thinks Hali is a lot better than he was last year, and he believes Hali is transitioning well in the new defense, at a new spot.

Todd Haley Press Conference

Head Coach Todd Haley had his daily meeting with the media following practice No. 16. Haley opened, talking about the shortened practice. The Chiefs only practiced until 10:30 a.m., rather then the usual 10:50 a.m.. “I thought the practice was very crisp, and we pushed through nicely. I thought the offense picked it up and made some tougher plays,” Haley commented.

Haley was asked how long the starters with play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans. Haley said he would comment on the issue during tomorrow’s practice. Haley talked briefly about the importance of the game. “Preseason is important to everybody, and it goes by fast. But to the Kansas City Chiefs, it is critical to our success down the road,” he said.

Haley seems very pleased with second-year tackle Braden Albert. “He is a guy who was ill yesterday and made it through a hot practice and is out there running today. He is a guy who just gets it," Haley said.

Outside linebacker Tamba Hali is also in the new coaches good graces. “Tamba is a hungry, hungry player who wants to get better. He is doing all the things it takes to be really good. And he is starting to look like an outside linebacker.” Up until this year, Hali was a defensive end. Haley also said that Hali bought, with his own money, a station where he can watch film.

The new head coach has yet to step into Arrowhead Stadium as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. Arrowhead is under construction, but Haley said that he is intentionally saving his first visit for Saturday.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Well it seems he is trying to walk the line, I'll give him credit for that.

Remember, as a reward for the hard work and progress the team made in OTAs, he canceled the last two days.

I'd say that shows he has a pretty good idea that he needs to strike a balance.

[RedThat]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

You know what's telling over prior years - the amount of injuries. Every year it seems we have a Mash unit on the sidelines because they get hurt in TC.

Not this year and this has been a much more physical camp.

You can attribute this to Haley's conditioning program. Herm and Vermeil didn't give 2 shits about being strict about conditioning and you could see it in the 4th quarter of games.

(knock on wood of course).

I mother f'n love Todd Haley.

Now tell us the truth, you just jizzed in your pants!!

[The Franchise]

Seeing time with the first-string defense were safeties Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page, cornerbacks Brandon Carr, Maurice Leggett and Brandon Flowers, linebackers Corey Mays, Mike Vrabel, Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson, defensive ends Alex Magee and Tyson Jackson.

Awesome.....we're going to run that elusive defense that doesn't use a NT.