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Monday, August 17: Afternoon Practice

The afternoon practice weather was quite similar to this morning’s practice weather. It was 79 degrees with a partly sunny sky. The dewpoint was at 57 with a humidity of 47 percent. The wind was headed toward the south-southwest at about six miles-per-hour.

The 20th Kansas City Chiefs practice was attended by only 65 fans. However, as training camp begins to wind down, the number of people who will be attending will gradually decrease. It is great to see all the fans who are still in town and excited to watch the team build up to a great season.

Defense

Linebacker Zach Thomas was the only inactive defensive player at this afternoon’s practice.

While the defensive line was working on getting off the line of scrimmage as quickly as possible, Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie wanted to make sure rookie defensive end Tyson Jackson was doing the drill correctly. “Feel different, Tyce?” Krumrie asked. Jackson replied with a simple “yeah.” Pleased, Krumrie said, “That’s how you get off the (darn) ball!”

This morning, safety Mike Brown was seeing time with the first-string defense over fellow safety Bernard Pollard. During practice this afternoon, however, Pollard was back with the first-string.

During 11-on-11, linebackers Demorrio Williams and Andy Studebaker teamed up to sack quarterback Brodie Croyle.

Linebacker Jovan Belcher had a nice defensive stop. The pass came from quarterback Brodie Croyle and was intended for tight end Jake O’Connell. Belcher was able to come over the top of O’Connell and knock the ball down.

The team ran 11-on-11 with 50 seconds on the clock. On a quarterback Matt Cassel pass, linebacker Mike Vrabel jumped and hung in the air for a solid amount of time, swatting at the ball. Vrabel deflected the pass, but was unable to make the interception. Frustrated, Vrabel shouted some obscenities as he ran back to the huddle.
Cornerback Brandon Flowers came over the left side of receiver Terrance Copper to break up a pass from quarterback Matt Cassel. The play came during the team’s 11-on-11, timed situation drill.

Quarterback Matt Cassel was picked off during the team’s timed 11-on-11 situation drill. Cornerback Maurice Leggett soared several feet into the air to intercept the quarterback’s pass. Leggett took a knee after making the catch so the clock would expire.

To end the 11-on-11 drill, wide receiver Mark Bradley had a near 50-yard reception and touchdown from quarterback Brodie Croyle.

Safety Jon McGraw spoke to reporters today after a long practice in the afternoon sun. “We showed some good things and some not so good things from last season," he commented. "However, this year we’re trying to fix them all and be better.” McGraw believes that the preseason games are a good measure of how the actual season will go. “It's hard to know how adrenaline and excitement will affect you until you’re actually on the field,” McGraw said. Overall, McGraw is excited about the season to come and the new coaching staff that is leading the team.

Fans

Chris Brown, and his son, Connor (5), were at camp today. Brown is a 1994 UWRF graduate and was a marketing communications intern for the 1993 Chiefs camp. Chris and Connor were on a bike ride and stopped to watch some of the practice. Chris is currently the head men’s hockey coach at Augsburg College, which is located in Minneapolis. He played hockey for the Falcons for four years and helped the 1994 team win the NCAA National Championship. The Browns live in River Falls, Wis.

UWRF alumni Bethany McGraw from St. Paul, Minn., was back in River Falls today to get a football autographed by as many Chiefs players as possible for a silent auction for work. She graduated in 2007 with a major in broad field social studies and a minor in international relations. She now works for a non-profit organization named Free 2 Play. The organization sets up sports camps and clinics throughout the world to provide children with opportunities to play. The organization also believes that children should not be for sale or enslaved. Free 2 Play is a branch of Not for Sale and is based out of San Francisco, Cal. To find out more about Free 2 Play, visit www.free2playpledge.org.

Janet and Rex Brandt, from Osceola, Wis., were at the Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp in River Falls for the fourth time. Also joining them were Doug Brandt from Wilson, Wis. and his son Connor (11) from Chippewa Falls, Wis. The Brandts were only in town to watch this afternoon’s practice, but they enjoy watching NFL football. Rex stated, “We are Packer fans, but it is nice to come and see the Chiefs because it is fun to see a professional team practice.” Connor also mentioned that his favorite player is the New England Patriots’ wide receiver Randy Moss because he is "a good player."

Andy Acosta and his girlfriend Cassie Parker of Kansas City came to town today to watch the Chiefs practice. Acosta is a UW-River Falls alumni of 2006 and was a marketing communications intern for the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp in 2005. He graduated as a marketing communications major with a coaching minor and now works for a company called Filo Productions that specializes in mobile marketing. Filo Productions is based out of St. Paul, Minn., and Acosta said that he travels about half of the year. Right now, the company is working with the NBA and host basketball tours at major events and festivals. They have a 53-foot semi truck that opens up into games and contests such as measuring your hand up to a board with Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant’s hands on it. It is Acosta's first time in River Falls since graduating, and him and Parker wanted to see the Chiefs practice since they are both fans. Acosta also mentioned that Parker made a sign three years ago that said, “Larry will you marry me?” on it when the Kansas City Chiefs played the Cleveland Browns. The sign was made for running back Larry Johnson. They are both huge Chiefs fans, especially since the team is from their hometown.

Josh Hampton of Kansas City, Mo. was among the few spectators at practice this afternoon. “I don’t understand why there aren’t more fans here,” Hampton admitted. “Other NFL teams have tons of fans at their camps, so I guess this just proves how few die-hard fans we have!” Although he was one of very few, he made enough noise that he made up for many who weren’t present at camp. “Come on guys! Don’t let him (running back Larry Johnson) run all over you like that!” Hampton yelled at his team. “Geez, you could have driven a Mack truck through that hole!” The super-fan will make his trek back to Kansas City on Wednesday.

Trent and Alisha Conner enjoyed the shade of a maple tree while sitting in their camping chairs during practice today. “This is just the way we like it,” Alisha stated very matter-of-fact. “Although it’s nice to have a lot of people cheering on the team, it’s also nice to have some peace and quiet and just enjoy some football.” Her husband agreed...sort of. “I like to get rowdy every now and again, and that’s hard to do with so few fans here,” Trent admitted. “I guess we will just have to wait for the regular season to get here. Then I can make all the noise I want!”

A father, Tony Peterson, and his two sons, Matthew (12) and Shawn (11) from Springfield Mo. attended the Kansas City Chiefs 20th practice, making this their third Summer Training Camp experience. “We wanted to get up here for one last trip to see them practice. I like using this as a little vacation and will miss coming here for the great weather throughout camp,” said Tony. Originally in River Falls for a business trip with the Nela Company, Tony decided to bring his sons along as well. All three are big fans of safety Bernard Pollard, linebacker Derrick Johnson and running back Larry Johnson. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the new players can do. You can’t rebuild a team without new players, and that has been the Chiefs biggest mistake in past years. I think adding (quarterback) Matt Cassel was a great idea,” commented Tony. As far as the move to St. Joe, Mo. next year, the family is excited about how close it will be to home and thinks that it will give more fans the opportunity to go to the camp.

Making the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp a father-son event seemed to be very popular this year. Father Darryl Havlicek and son Nick from Apple Valley, Minn., sat on the south end of the practice field today and enjoyed the afternoon together. This was their first time attending the practices, and they both were interested to see what the new draft picks were doing so far. “I’m waiting to see how (defensive ends) Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey are doing so far in the camp. They seemed to be really good choices for the team,” said Nick.

Friends Mary Buss from River Falls and Bruce Magnuson from Minneapolis attended the 20th Kansas City Chiefs practice for the second year in a row. The two don’t follow the team very closely, but still enjoy watching the early stages of the season. “I like to see the behind the scenes things that are going on and sort of figure out how things are done when I come here,” said Magnuson. The two agree that this season seems tougher for the players and believe that there will be a nice change for the better with the new coaching staff.

Special Teams

Head Coach Todd Haley said in his press conference after this morning’s practice that he is well aware of the Chiefs poor return game. In order to improve on this part of the game, Haley said he plans to throw many different players in the returning spot throughout the remaining days of training camp. The players that returned kickoffs and punts during this afternoon’s practice included: running backs Dantrell Savage and Jamaal Charles, wide receiver Rodney Wright and cornerback Londen Fryar. Fryar was the only one who dropped a return during the drills.

Extra, extra...

General Manager Scott Pioli wandered over and spent some time watching the offensive and defensive lines run one-on-one blocking drills.

After the last horn, the team spread out in between fields 1 and 2, facing to the west. They ran sprints in three groups. First, the offensive and linemen ran. Quarterback Brodie Croyle was also part of the first group. The linebackers and quarterback Matt Gutierrez ran in the second group, and the running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs, along with quarterback Matt Cassel ran in the third heat. The sprints were timed, and the team did three total rounds.  Head Coach Todd Haley wanted the team to “run in the fourth quarter.” Defensive end Dion Gales impressed Haley during the sprints. Gales, 6'5", 259 pounds, finished near the front of his heat in all three rounds. “That’s a way, Gales,” Haley shouted. “Good job, 6-2. He out ran all y’all!”

After the majority of the team had left the field this afternoon, the wide receivers were not allowed to leave practice until they successfully completed a catching drill. The quarterbacks were also involved and had to complete a very long pass to a sprinting receiver. Head Coach Todd Haley has been disappointed with the number of dropped balls by the receivers so far into camp and the preseason. All of the players started at the south end zone, and after the receiver caught the pass, he had to sprint to the north end zone and could then leave the football field. Only one ball was dropped by receiver Amani Toomer, who then had to try again and was successful on his second attempt.

Offense

Guard Tavares Washington, running back Kolby Smith and quarterback Tyler Thigpen were inactive from the offensive side during this afternoon’s practice. Thigpen spent the time before practice hanging around the offense without his pads on before heading to “No Man’s Land” to ride a bike.

The receivers had some trouble catching the football during the drill ran against air. Head Coach Todd Haley was visibly upset, yelling to the team that it was time to start practice over and make the plays. Balls continued to hit the ground. 

The first play of the team’s 7-on-7 could probably be considered the play of the day. Quarterback Matt Cassel made an inside pump fake to move the safety then aired the ball out and hit receiver Devard Darling in the end zone for a touchdown. After diving to make the outstanding catch, Darling got up slowly after landing hard on his right shoulder. Later, Darling wandered to the training tent and didn’t return to practice. From the tent, Darling went to field 3 where he rode a stationary bike until the final horn sounded. His right shoulder was taped and iced pretty heavily.

Head Coach Todd Haley was very vocal during the team’s 7-on-7 drill today. Haley yelled at receiver Bobby Engram after he fell to ground following a catch short of the first down. “Stay on your feet, Bobby,” Haley screamed. “Finish the play!” During the next play, tight end Brad Cottam failed to come up with a tipped ball that hit him right in the chest. Cottam didn’t hustle back to the huddle as fast as Haley would have liked. “Quit feeling sorry for yourself and run back to the huddle, and make the next play!” Haley hollered.

Quarterback Matt Cassel was 9-13 today during the 7-on-7 drill. One of his incompletions was a pass that should have been picked off. Cornerback Maurice Leggett had his hands on the ball but let it slip through his fingers.  Head Coach Todd Haley was a little unhappy, saying, “Come on, Leggett. Let’s make a play!”

During the team’s 11-on-11 drill, quarterback Matt Cassel faked a handoff to running back Larry Johnson and then connected with receiver Dwayne Bowe in the center of the field. Head Coach Todd Haley was pleased with the tempo from the quarterback. Haley has been preaching frequently during camp that he wants the quarterbacks to get rid of the ball more quickly.

During 11-on-11, utilizing just 50 seconds on the clock, quarterback Brodie Croyle was ready to begin his drive, but tight end Brad Cottam false started. The defensive sidelines got loud and hollered, “Back ‘em up!” They also shouted that Cottam had to run to the fence as is the familiar consequence for jumping offsides. The offense began their next play five yards back, but Cottam never did run to the fence.

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).