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Monday, August 14, 2006, Afternoon
K.C. Chiefs Training Camp Daily Updates

The players and 210 fans enjoyed wonderful weather at today’s afternoon practice. It was partly sunny and 79 degrees with a refreshing wind coming from the NW at 11 mph. There was a low humidity of 44 percent.

Special Teams

Offense

Since the Chiefs did not practice in the morning, the offense got a lot of repetitions this afternoon.

Wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe returned to practice today, as did quarterback Damon Huard.

First in 7-on-7s, quarterback Trent Green completed 10-12 pass attempts and threw one interception. Wide receiver Dante Hall, running back Dee Brown and tight end Tony Gonzalez each connected with Green on two passes, while fullback Ronnie Cruz, wide receiver Nate Curry, wide receiver Samie Parker and running back McKenzi Smith all tallied one reception. Green made a pass attempt to wide receiver Jeff Webb, but it slipped through his fingers. In this series, quarterback Damon Huard also took four snaps. He completed 3-4 passes to running back Quentin Griffin, running back McKenzi Smith and wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe.

In a 9-on-7 drill, quarterback Damon Huard threw 4-7 pass completions. Huard couldn't connect with wide receiver Nate Curry on either of two passes, but did garner completions when he collaborated with running backs Quentin Griffin, Derrick Ross and McKenzi Smith. Huard also completed a 25-yard pass to wide receiver Kyle Brown.

In a drill designed to work on a running attack, running backs Larry Johnson, Dee Brown and Quentin Griffin each carried the ball three times. Running backs McKenzi Smith and Derrick Ross each received two opportunities to improve their running game. Quarterback Trent Green and Jeff Smoker spilt the snaps evenly.

In the first segment of 11-on-11s, Green completed 4-5 passes. Gonzalez registered two receptions from Green and wide receiver Dante Hall snatched one of two intended passes. Running back Larry Johnson also was successful on a bootleg play to the right of the field. Quarterback Damon Huard took five snaps, completed 3-4 passes and got sacked once. In this drill Huard still couldn't connect with wide receiver Nate Curry, but he did complete passes to tight end Jason Dunn, running back McKenzi Smith and tight end Kris Wilson. Quarterback Jeff Smoker only took one snap, but the snap was flawed and sailed over Smoker's head.

Following an offensive walkthrough, the team commenced with the second half of 11-on-11s. Quarterback Trent Green recorded the majority of the snaps with 13. He completed 5-9 pass attempts to fullback Ronnie Cruz, wide receiver Dante Hall, tight end Tony Gonzalez, and two to wide receiver Samie Parker. Running back Larry Johnson carried the ball four times during this series. The offensive linemen that worked with Green's team included: left tackle Kyle Turley, left guard Chris Bober, center Casey Wiegmann, right guard Will Shields and right tackle Kevin Sampson. No offensive plays with Green's unit resulted in a touchdown.

Also in this half of 11-on-11s, quarterback Damon Huard completed 2-5 passes. The three incompletes were all intended for receivers in the end zone. Huard connected with tight end Kris Wilson on a short pass and connected with wide receiver Jeff Webb on a 20-yard play. The offensive linemen that worked with Huard's unit consisted of left tackle Will Svitek, left guard Thomas Barnett, center Rudy Niswanger, right guard Tre Stallings and right tackle Jordan Black. Quarterback Jeff Smoker also took three snaps, completing 1-2 passes to wide receiver Kyle Brown.

After practice, guard Will Shields spent time tutoring guards Tre Stallings and Steve Franklin.

Defense

The defense looked unchanged as the Chiefs took the practice field for the first time since Saturday’s preseason loss to the Houston Texans.

Cornerback Lenny Walls was finally back in pads but only participated in light drills, and was absent for 7-on-7s. Rookie defensive end Tamba Hali was still sitting out of practice, replaced by Eric Hicks.

Injured defensive tackle Junior Siavii was practicing for the first time in camp and is scheduled to be brought back slowly, according to Head Coach Herm Edwards.“We don’t want to throw a guy into the fire,” said Edwards. “That’s not fair to the player.”

Practice went on as usual as the defense did not show any effects from Saturday’s game. The defensive line still looks to be the only question fazing the Chiefs before they play the Cincinnati Bengals on opening day.

With the release of cornerback Julian Battle, the secondary looks to be set, barring any injury. Ty Law and Patrick Surtain will be the cornerbacks and Greg Wesley and Sammy Knight will handle safety. Cornerbacks Benny Sapp and Lenny Walls will handle the Nickel and Dime roles. Rookie studs Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page will back-up Wesley and Knight. 

“All those young guys got to play a lot. It’s tough to all of a sudden have double days. You’ve got to rest; these guys aren’t machines,” said Edwards about the cancellation of this morning’s cancelled practice.

Edwards also spoke of his interest to sit down with retired offensive tackle Willie Roaf once the team gets back to Kansas City.“If things don’t happen, when I get home I’m going to call the guy. I haven’t talked to him. Until I hear from his lips…that’s the conversation I need to have with him.”

Fans

Today’s practice was one of the stops on the way to Chicago for Tom, Kevin and Steve Harkins, who are coming home from visiting relatives in North Dakota. This is their first time in River Falls for training camp, but Tom has been to a few of the Chicago Bears’ camps in Kankakee, Ill. He said he hasn’t noticed any major differences in how the two teams (Chiefs and Bears) run camp. The Harkins like being able to watch the players from such a short distance.

Erik Hauser of Chicago is in River Falls with his two kids Zac, 10, and Elle, 8. This is their first time at camp. Having lived in Kansas City previously, the Hausers are big Chiefs fans. Erik is excited about new coach Herm Edwards. “He’s always done great wherever he’s been. I think because he was a player, people respect him more as a coach.” Erik also thinks Edwards will help out with the defense. “The defense has needed some help, but [cornerback Ty] Law will help a lot.” Zac’s favorite part of camp was when he got to catch the balls that the kicker was sending through the goal posts.

Herman Suhr, a Field Supervisor at Arrowhead Stadium for 23 years, came to training camp with the team for 13 years to be a security guard at the practices. Today he was sitting behind the fence as a fan, relaxing and simply taking in the ambiance that camp has to offer. “I can’t say enough about the community,” said Suhr of River Falls, “Here and in Kansas City: both places have been so good to me.” He loves his job and said he is going to continue with it until the Chiefs get sick of him, which will hopefully be a long, long time.

Gerda Benedict, a former UW-RF food service coordinator, was at practice today to see the team she used to work with. Benedict, who worked with the Chiefs for 15 years in River Falls, retired two years ago. Some of Benedict’s duties included approving menus as well as handling finances between Chartwells (the University food service) and the Kansas City Chiefs. Benedict mentioned that one of the team’s favorite menus was Seafood Extravaganza, which included lobster, shrimp, crab legs, scallops and pasta dishes with seafood mixed in. Another menu item that is still a favorite is Zarda's night, which is a popular Kansas City barbeque restaurant. Benedict said that she thoroughly enjoyed working for the Chiefs and that it was nice to meet so many great people through the experience.

Paula Feyereisen, from River Falls, Wis., was present at practice today with her two sons Mitchell, 7, and Adam, 5. Paula was also with her mom, former camp coordinator for Food Services Gerda Benedict. Paula has been enjoying camp and is looking forward to purchasing some camp memorabilia to hopefully have signed by players for her sons. Christie Johnson from Seattle, Wash., who is Paula’s cousin, was also nearby with her daughter Celina, 8. Celina, who had her Barbie phone signed by players last year, is hoping to get a lot of autographs after practice today to add to her collection.

Dan Stork and his son Casey, 13, made it to today’s practice all the way from Coon Rapids, Iowa. They embarked on their almost six-hour road trip yesterday and made it to River Falls last night. They were a bit disappointed to find out that this morning’s practice was cancelled, but were pleased to be able to see the Chiefs this afternoon. Dan has been a Chiefs fan since he was a kid because they were the only team he could watch on TV, and also because he wanted to be different (most fans in Iowa are Minnesota Vikings fans). Casey’s favorite player is running back Larry Johnson; last year it was Priest Holmes. It isn’t a surprise that his favorite position is running back. It is the Storks' fourth year coming to River Falls for training camp, and they really enjoy the small town feel that it offers. Dan hopes this year’s Chiefs can get back to being a strong defensive team like the Marty Schottenheimer teams of the 90’s.

Jim Fisk of Belvidere, Ill., arrived today just in time to catch this afternoon’s practice. He had hoped to make it here last week but couldn’t because he had to maintain the greens at a golf course he manages. Due to the severe heat in Illinois, lately the course has been in very rough shape. Like many Chiefs fans, Fisk is excited about the team’s dedication to building a strong defense. He got a good look at the future of the defense, as rookie defensive end Tamba Hali was working out about five feet from Fisk.

Extra...Extra

There were two empty semi-trucks sitting in the back of the parking lot at Ramer Field Sports Complex this afternoon. The trucks are waiting for training camp’s end, so they can be loaded up with Chiefs’ weight room equipment, sleds and other miscellaneous items, and head back to Kansas City.

Some of the players signed autographs at the end of this afternoon’s practice after several fans were disappointed to find out that morning practice was cancelled, along with the autograph session. Lucky fans were surprised to see defensive end Jared Allen, cornerback Chris Johnson, running back Michael Bennett, linebacker Boomer Grigsby, and quarterback Brodie Croyle signing autographs for the second-to-last practice of camp.

The Chiefs held tryouts for some players after practice today: three defensive linemen, two defensive backs, a quarterback and a punter. Names were not given.

NFL Sirius Radio was on campus today conducting a live broadcast outside outside of Rodli Commons. Gilt Brandt and Vic Carucci hosted the show.

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.