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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.

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.

Fans

Dale and Mary Romine from Topeka, Kan. were at the Kansas City Chiefs practice field early today to watch the 15th practice. The couple was in the area for a medical appointment and, being Chiefs fans, decided to stay for the afternoon and watch the team practice. This was their first time attending Summer Training Camp and will probably be the last, due to the move to St. Joe, Mo. As for the new quarterback Matt Cassel, Mary said, “I hope he is everything they say he is." Dale mentioned his wife’s former love, former Chiefs quarterback Glen Dawson, but is also excited to see how Cassel will perform this year. “Unfortunately, we probably won't make it out to any of the games this season, but we did buy a new TV, so we can enjoy them from the comfort of our home,” commented Mary.

Three friends from Kansas City, Zack Turner, Michael Megraw and Matt Paneitz attended the Kansas City Chiefs practice today for the first time. Turner is a student at Missouri Western State University and is excited to hear that the team may be moving there to practice. “The change will do a lot of good for the St. Joe community as I’m sure it has done up here in River Falls. It will be nice to be able to attend more practices being that is so close,” said Turner. Though they are excited to see the move, the guys agree that the idea of taking a road trip to see the practice is really fun and would have liked to do it again. Megraw commented on how he was excited to see so many new players. “I’m liking the looks of (quarterback) Matt Cassel and (defensive end) Tyson Jackson. It will be nice to have a good quarterback.” In addition to the new players, the guys are also excited to have a new coach involved. “(Head Coach Todd) Haley seems firm but fair," said Paneitz. "He doesn’t play around like past coaches, and I think this season will reflect that.”

Alexandra Finn, a senior at UW-River Falls, attended the 15th Kansas City Chiefs practice today after finishing her research in the biology department at the University. This is Finn’s first time attending a practice, and she was enjoying the new experience. “As a student in this community, I think we all benefit greatly from having the Chiefs here. This camp is a great support for our economy, and I will be sad to see them leave,” she said. As far as the new players go, Finn commented, “other than (quarterback) Matt Cassel’s good looks, I think he will bring a lot to the team especially after being coached by (New England Patriots Head Coach) Bill Belichick.”

Tom Jasper enjoyed the shade of a tree while observing practice today.  Jasper hails from Kansas City, Kan., and is participating in his third year of watching camp in River Falls.  “It gets pretty hot in Kansas City, but this sun is brutal right now,” Jasper said.  “I’m glad I’m not out there in full pads working my butt off right now!”  Jasper is a big fan of new Head Coach Todd Haley and said that he is looking forward to seeing how the team progresses through the season under new management.

Sam Brooks (12) and his brother Jimmy (10) were throwing a football back and forth in a grassy area designated for fans this afternoon.  “I like (quarterback) Matt Cassel,” Sam said.  “I think he’s gonna make us a lot better.”  Jimmy disagreed with his brother saying, “I’m a (quarterback) Brodie Croyle fan.  I hope he gets to play some this year.”  The brothers traveled with their family from Springfield, Mo., and are not looking forward to the drive home on Thursday.  “It’s a long drive,” both brothers said in unison.

Cole Blaise of Kansas City, Mo., is working at his second summer training camp with the Chiefs. He was fortunate to do two spring semester internships and loves working with the video aspect for the Kansas City Chiefs website. When he was in sixth grade, he said that he, his brother and two of their friends found a junk pile at the Lake of the Ozarks. There was a lot of glass in the pile and he also mentioned that they had bb guns with them. They were shooting at the pile, but one of Blaise’s shots ricocheted off the glass and hit him in the eye. One morning he woke up and realized that some brown stuff was coming out of his eye. His friend found the bb stuck in his eye still, which had been there for two days. He said that he is lucky to still have good vision, otherwise he most likely would not be able to do all of the video stuff he does right now. Blaise works with Travis “T-Rav” Geary who is also from Kansas City, Mo., in the internet/video department. He would love producing videos and attended a film school in California calls Brooks Institute of Photography. Geary stated that they are at every practice and their work sometimes seems repetitive, but they enjoy what they do.

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.

Extra, extra...

UW-River Falls student Austin Peck from Ashland, Wis., has a summer marketing/business internship through the Falcon Foods Store on campus. He said he tries to get out to the fields each practice to sell ice cream, cheese curds, snack sticks and water to fans. Ice cream flavors change throughout camp, but Peck stated that they would most likely have chocolate, vanilla, peppermint stick and cotton candy available for the rest of the week. A cup of ice cream, a half-pound bag of cheese curds and bottled water are only two dollars each and beef snack sticks are only one dollar. Make sure you visit the Falcon Foods stand over by the information gazebo during practice! All of the ice cream, cheese curds and snack sticks are made on the UWRF campus.

Around 2:30 p.m., today there was a FedEx Freight truck that delivered a palate of Gatorade by the northwest corner of the practice fields. Kansas City Chiefs Security Guard Darwin Langum said there were at least 24 packages of 24 bottles of Gatorade on the palate. He said he thinks that should last the team through the rest of camp. “The players like to drink Gatorade because it gives them minerals and hydrates them, whereas water just hydrates them and doesn’t replenish the minerals they lose when they sweat.”

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.

2009 Staff

Students and staff covering the Chiefs this year.
Front, left to right: Amanda Kane (Fans, Seniors Day),
Renee Thony (Sidelines), Linda Abel (Fans, Kids' Days),
Jim Thies (Sports Information Director).
Back, left to right: Deb Toftness (Office Manager),
Kevin Harter (University Communications Director),
Steve Linzmeier (Sidelines), J. J. Mosher (Fans, Punt, Pass & Kick),
Jens Gunelson (Photographer). Not picture is
Brenda Bredahl (University Communications Writer/Editor).