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Tuesday, July 31, 2007: Training Camp News

A temperature of 83 degrees with a breeze from the south-southwest at 10 miles per hour made for great weather at the first Kid’s Day at Chiefs camp. The humidity remained steady at 40 percent, with a dew point of 61. Some 565 fans, including at least 100 young Chiefs’ fans, made their way to Ramer Field this morning.

Offense

The first air horn of practice was blown at 8:54 this morning. Quarterbacks began taking snaps from centers as they went through the motions of hand-offs, curls, three-step drops into an outlet pass and looking for receivers on the left and right sides of the field.

The next session of practice continued with the quarterbacks working on their footwork. They were put through drills that required them to zigzag in between and around vertical and horizontal barriers. The line went one-on-one using blocking pads. Left guard Brian Waters was recognized by coaches for his effective blocking skills, "That's it Brian Waters," commented coaches. The rest of the offense practiced positions and plays in preparation for a nickel defense.

The rest of practice was filled with three 11-on-11 sessions and one 7-on-7 session. Quarterback Damon Huard took all the reps in the first 11-on-11 drill. He was 4-4 in the red zone with three outlet passes going to tight end Kris Wilson. The offense and defenses than separated. The offensive line practice pulling, pushing and creating separation for the run game. Quarterback Brodie Croyle was 1-1 while working on a goal line offense and quarterback Casey Printers was 2-2.

The offense next joined the defense for a 7-on-7 drill. The Chiefs worked on their rushing offense with four handoffs going to running back Michael Bennett and two going to running back Kolby Smith. In another set, five rushing plays were to running back Marcus O'Keith. Smith and O'Keith have been competing for playing time behind Michael Bennett.

Running back Michael Bennett was once again the choice for ball carrier in another series. Bennett ran up the middle with ease. Tight end Tony Gonzalez was also a performer on the first unit catching outlet passes. Quarterback Brodie Croyle's rocket of an arm has been more apparent as camp goes on and he has been finding his open teammates quickly. Talk on the sidelines suggests that many people are impressed with Croyle's ability to create plays and his overall smoothness with the ball. Wide receiver Maurice Price couldn't hang on to a 13-yard bullet from Croyle. The ball went through Price's hands, bounced off his chest and slowly twisted down to the ground. Croyle's pitch to running back Michael Bennett ended with the back fumbling the ball after an eight-yard run; the defense recovered the ball. Running backs Marcus O'Keith, Bennett and Kolby Smith received the ball six of the 10 reps with the second unit. Quarterback Casey Printers was 5-6. Printers' incompletion came on a low and long 12-yard pass to the right sideline that was intended for wide receiver Eddie Kennison. Quarterback Jeff Terrell was 5-5. He had a tendency to sit on his back foot on the throw, but has improved on locating the open man. Terrell lost his left shoe during his last rep and that gave the crowd something to laugh about.

Defense

The defense was able to practice under yet another cloudless sky this morning, taking the field in pads for the third straight time.

Today rookie linebackers Brian Crum and David Hicks got a chance to work out with each other. In previous practices, Crum worked with a coach on a drill where each linebacker matched up face-to-face, pushing each other to go around, and swatting their arms out of the way. Both rookies are competing for roster spots and match up well: both are 6-2 and about 235 pounds.

Cornerback Jarrad Page took some heat today from Head Coach Herm Edwards, but it was not for lack of effort. Coach Edwards commented on this after practice in a press conference. “He’s trying to do too much. I mean he’s a good football player; he’s trying to do not only his job but someone else’s, so all of a sudden he’s not in position to make a play he is suppose to make.” The play Edwards referred to is when Page left tight end Kris Wilson all alone on the outside, and made the open field catch and turned the corner in full stride. Page and cornerback Ty Law converged on the tackle down field. Edwards yelled, “Stop doing that [No.] 44, get outside - you’re trying to do too much.”

In yesterday’s practice, defensive tackle Alfonso Boone injured his finger which caused him to not suit up in pads today. At today's practice, safety Bernard Pollard suffered a similar finger injury, which forced him to exit practice before the rest of the Chiefs. Teammate cornerback Benny Sapp came over to comfort Pollard as he winced in pain, while the trainer examined his hand. Pollard is the team's starting safety, and a valuable member of the overall defense. He is the leading candidate for the strong safety job. Head Coach Herm Edwards commented on the injuries at his morning press conference, saying that "doctors are going to look at both of them."

One of the hardest endeavors so far in camp came this morning when rookie safety Marlon Fair laid a big sideline hit on rookie fullback Gilbert Harris. Both of these players need to prove to coaches they are physical and can make big plays. Fair and Harris are fighting for a spot on the team and are fighting for jersey No. 30; currently both are sharing the number.

The team worked a great deal on pounding the ball inside, especially on the goal line. The defense was not able to stop any of the one or two-yard touchdown runs. The offense pounded the ball right down the middle, and without defensive tackle Alfonso Boone to fill holes, the more experienced offensive line drove the less experienced defensive line backwards, scoring easily.

Special Teams

Special teams did what they have done at every practice and it was the first unit to run through live drills. Special teams coach Mike Priefer led the crew through a handful of different scenarios such as field goal blocking and what to do on defense when the opponents fake a field goal.

Extra, Extra...

Offense tackle Damion McIntosh took extra time after practice for a short interview with Chiefs TV. He shared his experience working alongside Pro-Bowl left guard Brian Waters. "We're making each other better and getting ready for our opponents." McIntosh shared that he sees the offensive line coming together and that practicing with pads has helped the line to communicate better and get timing down with the quarterback. "I just want to do my best for the team, I'm a Chief. And that's my No. 1 goal; to be the best player that I can be," explained McIntosh. He said that personally camp has been going well for him.

Head Coach Herm Edwards said in today’s press conference, “The first two practices were very good, yesterday’s practices both during the morning and after. This one was ok, but it wasn’t at the same competition level, a couple guys couldn’t do it mentally. In the game of football, you have to let your mind control your body, you can’t let your body control your mind.” Edwards also commented on how he is not worried about his team getting tired like a lot of other coaches. “If you give them enough rest and you do it in sequence and you do it smart, they buy in.” He also said it is important for the young guys not to wear themselves out. “Since veterans have been in training camp longer, they know how to conserve energy; they know when to go fast and when to go moderate. When a rookie player comes to a NFL training camp, he wastes half his anxiety stretching. They don’t know how to handle it, and they don’t know how to rest at night.”

There are many people needed to make training camp run smoothly each day. Event staff members Cory Pearson and Marc Cernhous, both from River Falls, work hard to help the Chiefs. Both of these University of Wisconsin-River Falls students work daily on many tasks. These tasks range from cleaning locker rooms, to hauling different equipment in the green gators, moving around training tables, making sure there is room for the Vikings when they come this weekend, and setting up the press conference podium, along with many more tasks. Both Pearson and Cernhous arrived at camp this morning bright and early at 4:45 a.m. and will work till 1p.m. When asked about their boss, Steve Stocker, they said he is a great person to work for.

Defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson was spotted with a "faux-hawk" hair cut when walking off the field.

Tight ends Mike Pinkard and Michael Allan took extra time to hit against the sled while receiving tips from tight ends coach Jon Embree .

It was a fun field day for young Chief fans. With 160 in attendance, Kids' Day went off with a bang. There were several activities for the youngsters to participate in including: the three-legged races, mini-golf, temporary tattoos, face painting, a wading pool with ducks, coloring stations and the ever so popular raffle for cool Chiefs gear. The kids also received suckers and free raffle tickets along with balloons. Freddy the Falcon and K.C Wolf also made an appearance and kids lined up to get their pictures taken with the two mascots.

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).