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Saturday, July 28, 2007: Morning

A pristine morning awaited Chiefs fans today at Ramer Field. The temperature was a cool 73 degrees, with a light east-southeast breeze at five miles per hour. Humidity was tolerable at 65 percent, and the dew point was 61. 276 fans lined the fences and filled the bleachers. Practice began at 8:57 a.m. sharp as a John Deere tractor pulled sleds onto the field.

Offense

The green grass was fresh and misted with dew for the first morning  practice in shells. The Chiefs warmed up with a variety of exercises from grapevines to hip circles.

The punt team practiced their take-off and were instructed by Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer to “See the ball, then turn and run.”  Priefer was happy with No. 57’s take-off. “Good angle there, Nick Reid,” he said. After continuous runs through the drill, the punt squad moved on to practice blocking for the run. Priefer coached intensely, and gave constructive advice to players. “Bernard, don’t give up the inside too quickly,” said Priefer to safety Bernard Pollard. Fullback Boomer Grigsby, defensive end Montez Murphy, tight end Michael Allan, and running backs Michael Bennett and Marcus O’Keith were the squad’s most noticeable performers.

The offensive line took the sled for a ride all over the field. They had no trouble manhandling the sled on the middle practice field as they practiced driving off the rush. Kicker Justin Medlock worked on short-range field goals. He amused fans as he kicked the football through the goal post over the heads of fans to several young children underneath a shade of a tree.

Quarterbacks Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle, Casey Printers and rookie Jeff Terrell worked on fundamentals. Focusing mostly on footwork, the quarterbacks were put through a short course of picking the ball up from a stand, back-pedaling over short barriers, then shuffling to the side through the gap of two fake blockers. The quarterbacks also worked on taking the snap and locating receivers.

At the end of practice Head Coach Herm Edwards brought the team to the first field for an 11-on-11 drill. Quarterback Brodie Croyle went out with the first unit and was 6-6. He found favor with running backs Michael Bennett and Kolby Smith. Quarterback Casey Printers came out with the second unit. He was 5-6, throwing an incomplete on his first pass. Tight end Keith Willis jumped early off the line and was upset when he caused an illegal procedure penalty on the fourth take. Quarterback Damon Huard came out with the third crew, still wearing a brace on his right calf. His was 4-4, giving the ball to running backs Michael Bennett and Kolby Smith and wide receiver Eddie Kennison.  Smith was rocked on an outlet pass from Huard in the middle when linebacker Derrick Johnson hit Smith with a cracking tackle from the back that caused an incomplete pass. Players, coaches and fans gasped “ooh” at the sight of the play.

After practice, offensive guard Tre Stallings stayed on the field to work on getting out of his stance for pass protection.

Defense

This morning Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie was vocal with all defensive line units. During a drill where players drive and lift practice dummies, Krumrie yelled, “Drive him back!” in a effort to motivate his team. Then Krumrie strapped on foam arms for protection as he clubbed away at his players during a hand-swatting drill. Krumrie repeatedly said “Get out of the way!” and “Get off the field!” This kind of drill is one in which talented defensive ends such as Jared Allen are able to prove how well they can move.

The defense then gathered with each other and worked on different formations and play calling. Middle linebacker Napoleon Harris continued his work from yesterday, yelling out different positions that the defense should be assembled in. He also worked on changing their position as the stand-in offense rotated as the coaches directed.  Performing the same duties on the second team was linebacker William Kershaw. This is only Kershaw's second year in the league, making it important that he is able to read defenses and be able to stand in for Harris in case of injury.

At about 9:47 a.m., Defensive Coordinator Gunter Cunningham had the team work on stunts. Rookie defensive tackle DeMarcus Tyler continued to work on the second team, proving that he could play in a key role the first two games of the season when defensive end Jared Allen will be absent.. The third team did not get many chances to show their skills before the team huddled.

The 11-on-11 drills started at 9:55 a.m. when players were strapped in the shells and ready to hit. The defensive line and offensive line matched up against each other in a drill working on rushing the quarterback, and defending against very move. In this drill, defensive end Montez Murphy was able to fake tackle Damion McIntosh out with a swim move. The swim move is a common technique used to get to the quarterback by knocking the offensive lineman hands down.

The most outstanding plays made this morning were on the 7-on-7 drills where safety Bernard Pollard made two consecutive interceptions. Pollard made two clean breaks on the ball and displayed his soft hands by holding on to both balls thrown by quarterback Jeff Terrell.

Head Coach Herm Edwards praised defensive end Tamba Hali when Hali broke into the backfield. Edwards yelled, “Way to show up red shirt!” Linebacker Derrick Johnson made the most devastating hit when he smoked running back Kolby Smith as he came across the middle. Smith popped up fast and was not injured on the play, but looked shaken.

The defensive line worked on coverage in an effort to help the linebackers out on short-passing plays. Defensive end Jared Allen made several plays, one in a catch by running back Kolby Smith, where Allen dropped back and made a solid hit.

In an interview after practice, Head Coach Herm Edwards commented on how it was good to be in pads again. He said, “The last time we were in pads didn’t go so well,” referring to their playoff defeat by the Indianapolis Colts. The media had numerous questions referring to the defensive line. Herm answered these by saying, “The defensive line is very athletic. We have a chance to have a good defense, we just need to work together. [Defensive Line Coach] Tim [Krumrie] rubs off on players.” Edwards said he expects running back Priest Holmes to arrive sometime today, but not to be at this afternoon’s practice. According to Edwards, when Holmes is at camp, he is not expected to get in pads, just to condition.

Fans

Jackson Rude, 10, from Grimes, Iowa, sported a Larry Johnson jersey while playing catch with another boy in the grass next to the Chiefs practice field. Rude has been in River Falls since Friday with his father and brother, and plans to stay until Monday in hopes of getting running backs Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes' autographs. Rude plans on attending the Punt, Pass, & Kick contest after the morning practice wraps up.

Brian Sedgwick and his son, Kendall, are camping in the River Falls area during Chiefs camp and are watching their favorite player, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. “Dwayne Bowe is my favorite rookie player. I like rookies, it's fun to see if they make the team,” said Kendall. Both father and son are confident that the wide receiver will make the team.

This is the second year of training camp for Rich Gerczak, from River Falls, and Lucas Gerczak, 15, from Grand Rapids, Mich. Rich and Lucas enjoy being at camp because they can see the Chiefs players at close range, and are looking forward to attending the Vikings/Chiefs practice in Mankato, Minn. next week. They also looking forward to watching Head Coach Herm Edwards at camp this summer because he is “motivated" and "fun to watch”.

Dakota Knoll, 14, and Alex Klatt, 15, from Ellsworth, Wis. are visiting training camp for the first time this summer. Both Knoll and Klatt love being able to see the players and are excited to watch cornerbacks Ty Law and Patrick Surtain and running back Priest Holmes. Knoll and Klatt, who are planning to attend Family Fun Night on Aug. 8, would also like to see running back Larry Johnson come to camp.

Kansas City resident Steve Brown and his son, Jordan, 14, sat in two camping chairs behind the fence with some unusual decorations: three autographed Kansas license plates. The plates, bearing the expressions “KCCHIEF”, “AROWHED”, and “CHEEEFS” do not spend all their time adorning seats, however. “They’re all active plates on three of our family vehicles,” said Steve. “We get here about every other year.” The family made the lengthy drive to River Falls with a bag of items, including helmets and a jersey, all of which Jordan hopes to get autographed. “I live for football. I love it. It’s the Chiefs,” said Jordan.

Miriam Rivera, her husband Tom Hokanson, and their sons Andrew, 7, and Matthew, 10, sported identical bright-yellow t-shirts to today’s practice, all proudly printed with quarterback Brodie Croyle’s jersey number.  The family, from Bemidji, Minn., formerly lived in Alabama where they first watched Croyle play college ball.  Last year when Croyle was on the injured list during training camp, both boys brought Icy Hot patches and a ‘get well soon’ card for him.  Andrew and Matthew also have followed in the philanthropic footsteps of their idol: through school functions they raised money for Big Oak Ranch, a Christian home for children from troubled and abusive environments founded by Croyle’s father, John. John was so impressed he invited the family to visit the ranch and even tour Brodie's old high school.

Extra, Extra...

Sticking around after practice was tight end Jason Dunn. Dunn answered a fan’s questions with Chiefs TV. The fan wanted to know how tough it was for a veteran to mentor the youth on the team and still compete for a job. Dunn explained by saying, “Not tough at all. It’s about being professional.”

Cameron Winston, son of Lamonte Winston, Chiefs executive director of player development, could be seen on the field again today as he assisted during ball-handling drills.  Cameron caught hand-offs from players such as wide receivers Brad Ekwerekwu, Titus Ryan, Brent Little, and Maurice Price.

A hybrid of Wisconsin and Southern sentiments?  One red SVU parked in the lot at Ramer Field today boasted a Kansas license plate with the moniker “MOOZURY”.

UWRF senior and concessions stand staff member Tressa Gustafson revealed that one of today’s hot souvenir items was packs of Chiefs trading cards. Surprisingly, instead of kids purchasing the cards, a huge percentage went to those over 18 years of age.

2007 Staff

Students and staff covering the Chiefs this year include in front row, left to right: Dave Urbaniak (Defense), Amie Eller (Fans, Punt, Pass & Kick), Jim Thies (Sports Information Director), Jennifer Pengra (Fans, Kids Days), Shawna Carpentier (Offense). Back, left to right: Mark Kinders (Public Affairs Director), Brenda Bredahl (Public Affairs Editor), Jens Gunelson (Photographer), Lisa Stratton (Fans, Web Site Editor), Deb Toftness (Office Manager). Not pictured is Zach Nagle (Student Photographer).