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Wednesday, August 9, 2006, Morning
K.C. Chiefs Training Camp Daily Updates

The sun was nowhere to be found this morning as clouds hung over the practice fields. It made for a very cool 70 degree morning with 76 percent humidity. Winds were coming from the SSE at 5 mph. Attendance was at an even lower number than yesterday with 105 fans.

Interview with wide receiver Dante Hall

Wide receiver Dante Hall was asked to explain his role on offense this year. He said, there’s “A different mindset, as far as the offense and how we are going to do things this year, so I’m not sure exactly what my role is going to be. I’m still the nickel guy; I’m still the third-down guy and the guy that is expected to make big plays, but how much of a role I’m really not sure. I won’t know until the season gets here.”

Some compare Hall’s numbers and accolades with those in the Hall of Fame, but Hall assures that he has never even thought about it. “I’m still trying to get the record. Hall of Fame, that is a prestigious group, and if I can just be remembered as a guy who is a great professional athlete during his career, that would be great. I just need to get back to the Pro-Bowl.”

Hall’s goals this year include: “The ring. That is by far the ultimate goal right now. Well, I take that back: the ring along with five returns. I want to get five returns in one year because nobody has ever done it. I realize how big of a contribution that was when I had four returns, and how it made the team go well. I just want to get back to being that dominant force as a returner and help my team win.”

Defense

“We’re (the players) feeling sorry for ourselves,” said Head Coach Herm Edwards following practice. “They’ve had to go seven days in a row in pads, but I anticipated it. They’re worn down a little bit; they’re tired. They’ve been hitting in the morning and it’s a physical deal.” 

Aside from the down practice, the defense continued to show signs of turning the corner.  Cornerback Ty Law rested and did not practice, but most likely will be back playing in the afternoon.

The defensive line was switched up yet again with tackle Ron Edwards starting in place of on-again off-again starter Ryan Sims. 

Running back Dee Brown tried multiple times to run up the middle, but the hole never opened, as defenders crashed down. Defensive End Tamba Hali was still sitting out. Veteran Eric Hicks was in his place. 

Defensive end Shane Burton, a recent signing by the Chiefs, saw some action from the left side of the line as he wore No. 73. 

Defensive line coach Tim Krumrie seemed disappointed in the line’s performance throughout practice and yelled, “Too Damn soft.”

Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham was the most animated he has been all camp; he took the defense aside and yelled at his players. The defense has not looked up to par in recent days, at least not up to what they looked like earlier in camp. 

“It was kind of quiet out here, we needed some excitement,” said Coach Edwards of Cunningham’s motivational tactics.

Pads came off for the second half of practice and 11-on-11s finished out the morning. “We talked about it,” said Coach Edwards of the relaxed play. “I think this afternoon we will be flying around and that’s good.”

Following practice, Edwards addressed the absence of back-up quarterback Damon Huard: “Right now we have two quarterbacks that are alive. We might have a new quarterback playing for us on Saturday.” Huard came down on the bridge of his foot and sprained his ankle yesterday.

Special Teams

Punter Dustin Colquitt got a lot of work in during this morning's practice, punting the ball 15 times for a total of 749 yards, averaging 50 yards per punt. The Chiefs punt coverage team worked on blocking against eight and nine man fronts. Punt returners Dante Hall and Nate Curry were the recipients of all of Colquitt's punts. Curry had a bit of a rough day, fumbling the ball twice. Twenty-five minutes of this morning's practice were spent on special teams drills.

Offense

Fullback Ronnie Cruz was back in action this morning after suffering a mild concussion two days ago.

Wide receiver Darrell Hill, tight end Tony Gonzalez, guard Will Shields and quarterback Damon Huard were not practicing this morning.

During the first offensive drill this morning, the quarterbacks worked on passing the ball to the right side of the field. Quarterback Trent Green completed 4-5 passes and quarterback Casey Printers completed 2-2 passes; both worked with wide receivers Eddie Kennison, Samie Parker and Jeris McIntyre.

In the first set 11-on-11s, the starting offensive linemen were: left tackle Kyle Turley, left guard Jordan Black, center Casey Wiegmann, right guard Chris Bober and right tackle Kevin Sampson. During this segment the focus was the running game. Quarterback Trent Green took four snaps, handing off the ball to running back Larry Johnson three times and running back Dee Brown once. Quarterback Casey Printers took six snaps, delivering the ball to Brown twice, running back McKenzi Smith three times and running back Quentin Griffin once.

In a short series of 7-on-7s, quarterback Trent Green completed 3-6 passes and was intercepted one time. Green connected with running back Larry Johnson twice on wide-out passes to the left, and then completed a pass to fullback J.R. Niklos. Wide receivers Samie Parker and Jeris McIntyre both dropped passes from Green.

Following 7-on-7s, Coach Herm Edwards instructed all the players to remove their pads. Then the team moved to 11-on-11s. Quarterback Trent Green threw 4-5 in the series and handed off the ball to the running backs on seven snaps. Fullback Ronnie Cruz and wide receiver Eddie Kennison each registered two receptions from Green. Running back Larry Johnson garnered five carries.

Fans

Mark Bookman and Ashley Kaufman were among the fans at this morning’s practice. It was their first time at summer training camp. Bookman came to see how the Chiefs’ practices differ from how his practices were when he played in high school. Bookman also came to check out cornerback Ty Law: “Good players are always invaluable. He’ll help the team, but I think he’s a little too high on himself like Randy Moss when he joined the Vikings.”

Lydia and Louis Seve brought their son Tom and grandson, Caleb, 13 to River Falls for training camp. When asked what about practice he likes the most, Caleb replied, “All of it,” but that the cornerbacks were probably his favorite. This is the Seves second time at training camp; they miss tackle Willie Roaf, but Louis commented, “It was his choice. Turley will fit in, but no one can replace Roaf.” Tom said he prefers coming to training camp in River Falls, and hopes it doesn't move down to Kansas. He thinks there would be too many people, and it would be harder to get autographs.

Bob and Ruth Shipman, from Kansas City, came to the 8:45 a.m. practice today for their fourth year at summer training camp in River Falls. The Shipmans arrived at camp Saturday morning and attended Family Fun Night that evening. Ruth said that it was the best Family Fun Night ever because she was able to get 12 autographs for her grandson, including running back Larry Johnson, cornerback Patrick Surtain and wide receiver Dante Hall. The Shipman’s favorite part of camp is being close to the players and meeting up with fans from past years.

Sheri Colter from Independence, Mo., was watching practice for the first time on the first-field bleachers at Ramer Field Sports Complex. Colter, who has been a Chiefs fan for years and is a season ticket holder, has been enjoying her time at camp. She mentioned that she particularly likes seeing her favorite players up-close, including quarterback Trent Green and tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Extra...Extra

Some of trainers were handing out yellow bottles of what appeared to be Gatorade after practice this morning. Some bottles were Gatorade, but some were lemonade. After tasting the lemonade, then spitting it out, we found that they use salt instead of sugar when mixing the lemonade; apparently it’s to help put the salt back into the players’ bodies because they sweat so much.

The 65 sets of players’ shoulder pads were lined up in 10 rows today during the last 30 minutes of practice.

After practice today, Billy Long, who is a strength and conditioning assistant, was instructing tackles Will Svitek and Thomas Barnett on blocking techniques and footwork.

Linebacker Boomer Grigsby was running sideline to sideline sprints today after practice before retiring to Hunt Arena.

Evan Larsen, a River Falls High School and UW-Stout graduate got a tryout with the Chiefs after this morning's practice. Larsen, a kicker, is third on UW-Stout's all-time scoring list. Apparently his dad was able to get in contact with Head Coach Herm Edwards to set up the tryout. The Chiefs are very happy with kicker Lawrence Tynes and weren't looking at Larsen as a replacement at the kicker position. They just wanted to give a local guy a chance to prove himself to NFL coaches. Larsen attempted 13 field goals and made eight; his longest coming from 50 yards. After his field goal attempts, Larsen got a chance to show his leg strength on kickoffs. His first kickoff from the 35-yard line was a dandy, traveling to the 1-yard line. The rest of his five kickoffs weren't quite as good as the first, but they all landed on or inside the 20-yard line. Special teams coach Mike Priefer and Executive Vice President Denny Thum were on hand to observe Larsen's tryout.

Signing autographs today were the rookies, headlined by defensive end Tamba Hali and quarterback Brodie Croyle. Also getting a lot of attention were safeties Bernard Pollard and Jarrod Page and tight end and Wisconsin native Robert Docherty.

Defensive end Tamba Hali was the last player to leave the field today. He spent a good 10 minutes joking with trainers and catching balls from the jugs machine.

Students and staff covering the Chiefs this year include in front row, left to right: Sara Dehn (Senior Day), Amie Eller (Kids' Days), John Hepokoski (sidelines), Holly Sigler (photographs), Jude Harder (fans, Punt, Pass & Kick). Back, left to right: Mark Kinders (Public Affairs Director), Kat Krtnick (sidelines), Deb Toftness (Office Manager), Brenda Bredahl (Public Affairs Editor), Jim Thies (Sports Information Director), Jens Gunelson (University Photographer).

Chiefs fans! Make sure you tune in to the 2006 Daily Updates page on a regular basis. We will be posting sidelines and fans information after each practice while the Chiefs are in camp.