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Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007: Training Camp News

The combination of 89 degree heat and 43 percent humidity drove some fans indoors in search of air conditioning at this afternoon's practice. Some 83 fans lined the fence railings of the practice fields at Chiefs camp, many taking shelter under hats, umbrellas, or any bit of shade they could find. The dew point was 64, and the wind was from the southwest at 15 miles per hour, gusting to 20 miles per hour.

Offense

Quarterback Casey Printers was seen practicing his throwing techniques on the side of the field for part of the afternoon today while the rest of the team was off practicing.

It was another hot day during the Chiefs afternoon practice. Instead of birds chirping, the sound of parking lot and gas station construction near the practice fields filled the air. Special teams spread out over two of the fields to work on mechanics to start the practice. Wide receivers Samie Parker, Ean Randolph, Titus Ryan and cornerback Justin Phinisee received balls at mid-center field from a Juggs machine set at a high kick off angle. The drill required the receiver to start with a football in their hands and toss it in the air as the Juggs machine spit them another ball. The object was to catch the Juggs' ball while the ball they started was in the air and then to catch the ball in the air as it was falling. The drill was designed to make the receivers have to focus on locating the ball from the kick off.

Running back Priest Holmes and linebacker Nate Harris were put through a series of conditioning drills. Strength and Conditioning Coach Cedric Smith set up line drills to test the players’ speed and agility. Cones were set up in different patterns such as a square and a triangle for Holmes and Harris to maneuver around and through.

The Chiefs used both sides of the field while running two groups through a one-on-one drill. The drill allowed receivers to go for mid-range passes on both sidelines and defensemen to work on covering the pass. Quarterbacks Brodie Croyle and Casey Printers paired up on one side of the field and quarterbacks Damon Huard and Jeff Terrell gave passes on the other side of the field. Head Coach Herm Edwards chaperoned the drill and gave a couple defensemen some instructions on how to improve their coverage. “Force him to run by you. Don’t give him an easy release,” stressed Edwards to cornerback Tyron Brackenridge off to the side of the drill. Edwards next lent his knowledge to cornerback Benny Sapp: “Close the cushion - let me talk to you. Let me coach you up,” said Edwards to Sapp before pulling him from the drill to discuss his technique with him. Edwards was not just picking out the bad, he also noticed much good, saying, “Way to finish [No.] 35. That was ok, way to flatten him out,” commented Edwards to cornerback Will Poole.

Two sessions of 11-on-11 took up a good chunk of the practice time with a short 7-on-7 drill breaking up the sessions. No hits were taken in the drill and the rush was not full blown. Quarterback Brodie Croyle came out with the first unit both sessions. In total, Croyle took 26 reps. He was 6-13 in passing with seven incompletes. Five of the seven were errors by receivers who had trouble hanging onto the ball. Running back Samie Parker dropped two of those passes, and tight end Keith Willis and wide receivers Chris Hannon and Eddie Kennison each went for a pass and could not finish it. Quarterback Damon Huard took 23 snaps. Huard had four incompletes, one to the credit of Hannon who could not hang on to a 30-yard pass to the right far corner of the end zone. Huard gave seven hand-offs during his time out. Quarterback Casey Printers got 13 reps and quarterback Jeff Terrell took a couple reps. Printers had three incompletes.

Rookie wide receiver Maurice Price used his springs to jump up for a 22-yard high pass to the left sideline today that would have been too high for some other receivers. Today quarterback Brodie Croyle did not give anybody any reasons to question his passing ability. Croyle threw a nice 7-yard rocket pass to the middle of the field to wide receiver Chris Hannon that had personnel on the sidelines talking about his arm. Cornerback Benny Sapp robbed wide receiver Brad Ekwerekwu of a 11-yard pass cross right field when he swooped in from behind and knocked the ball out of Ekwerekwu’s waiting hands. Wide receiver Rod Gardner was a vocal leader on the field and encouraged his teams to pump up and play.

Defense

In this afternoons practice the players were not dressed in pads once again. During the defensive line workouts, defensive end Alfonso Boone ran in the back of the end zone on field No.1, and watched his teammates aggressively hit the sleds.

The 11-on-11 drill started off in the red zone. Head Coach Herm Edwards called for the goal-line defense and for defensive ends Claude McBride and Jimmy Wilkerson to enter in the play as cornerbacks Ty Law and Patrick Surtain exited. McBride and Wilkerson are both large individuals and are able to plug the holes in the defensive line. The team then split up and worked on some catching and coverage drills. Edwards was stressing for players to stay in position. He remarked, “Don’t let him [wide receiver] outside, and don’t panic.” It seemed like Edwards was working extensively with the defensive backs in this practice.

This afternoon practice was also filled with turnovers and great plays made by the defense. A lot of concentration was shown in a play where safety Jarrad Page tipped the ball into the air and it was juggled by the wide receiver and finally fell in to the hands of cornerback Patrick Surtain. On a sequence of plays, linebacker Rich Scanlon made a sack, and the defensive line tipped a pass. Defensive tackle James Reed had a sack, and only a few plays later linebacker William Kershaw had one as well.

When the 7-on-7 drills began, the big plays did not stop. Cornerbacks Benny Sapp and Ty Law both made interceptions on different plays. They were able to take advantage of errant throws by quarterbacks Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard.

There was some controversy on an off-sides call made by the referee. The offense was pointing at the defense and the defense was blaming the offense for drawing them off sides. The referee called the penalty on the offense, but Head Coach Herm Edwards pointed his finger at the defense. Defensive Coordinator Gunter Cunningham wasn not pleased about this, saying, “The referee called offense.” The referee responded by laughing and saying, “He is the coach.”
 
In today’s practice, the defense made many huge plays and was aggressive at getting the ball. They practiced many red zone plays, and several no-huddle plays and end of the game type situations.

Special Teams

Kicker Justin Medlock continued his powerful assault on the goal post today despite high winds. Near the end of practice, he moved away from the center goal post and headed to practice field No. 1, where he kicked a succession of six balls of a tee, the longest of which traveled nearly 60 yards. All six balls fell within 10 feet of each other. Medlock was 11-11 on field goals from both the right and left hash marks later on in practice.

Fans

Betty Clemens from Lee’s Summit, Mo., visited River Falls today for her 12th trip to Chiefs camp. “I’ve been here since Sunday,” said Clemens. “My favorite player is [safety] Bernard Pollard.” Clemens revealed that at 78 years of age, she plans on being at every Chiefs camp for years to come. “I’ll be here as long as I’m able,” said Clemens. “It’s a tradition.”

Mike and Sarah Thomsen and their sons, Brady, 7, and Austin, 3, took the time to visit Chiefs camp today after visiting both the Green Bay Packers’ and the Chicago Bears’ summer training camps. The family is from Bismarck, N.D., and said they hoped to receive Head Coach Herm Edwards’ autograph at the close of afternoon practice. When asked about their favorite player, all four Thomsen’s had the same response: “My favorite football player is No. 31,” said Brady. Sarah added, “We love [running back] Priest Holmes.”

Logan Baker, a former University of Wisconsin-River Falls student, was at afternoon practice today for her second time at training camp. Baker, who volunteered at Punt, Pass, & Kick last year, was glad to be able to watch the team practice once again. Baker also mentioned that she would like to see running back Larry Johnson come back to camp, but is glad to see that linebacker Donnie Edwards has returned.

This is the fourth time at camp for Melinda Shields, a resident of Olathe, Kan. Shields, who was watching practice from one of the picnic tables in the shade, said that she loves coming back to camp each year to visit with other fans, and of course, to watch her favorite NFL team up close while they practice. Some of Shields’ favorite players include tight end Tony Gonzalez, cornerback Ty Law, and quarterback Brodie Croyle.

Rick and Shaina Blake, from Menomonie, Wis., were at afternoon practice today with their boys Jacob, 13, and Ben, 15. Shaina, who is originally from Kansas City, Mo., has remained a loyal Chiefs fan in Wisconsin for 11 years. Jacob and Ben were proud to display autographs from quarterback Brodie Croyle, defensive end Tamba Hali, wide receiver Eddie Kennison, and safety Greg Wesley on their Chiefs hats and jerseys. The Blakes, who plan to attend the Viking/Chiefs practices in Mankato, Minn., and in River Falls, have been coming to camp for the last three summers and hope to keep coming back in the future.

Extra, Extra...

A sound and camera crew from NFL Films was able to record just inches away from defensive tackle DeMarcus Tyler and defensive end Montez Murphy as they ran through an intense blocking drill. The members of the ‘Hard Knocks’ film crew have been getting unprecedented access to the Chiefs’ practice fields; this is not the first time they have been able to get such extreme close-ups.

Linebacker Donnie Edwards took the opportunity to lighten the mood on the field today as he joked with teammates, faking exhaustion and pretending to fall over after he returned from a drill.

Practicing with the Juggs machine after practice today were wide receivers Titus Ryan, Jeff Webb, Chris Hannon, Eddie Kennison, Rod Gardner, Brad Ekwerekwu, Maurice Price, and Samie Parker.

A field goal by kicker Justin Medlock sailed through the goal post and the beams of an imposing scissor lift to ricochet off a nearby tree and strike one young fan in the face as he was waiting to catch the ball. Rather than being upset, the youngster laughed and looked slightly abashed.

Running back Priest Holmes signed autographs for some lucky fans today during practice. Holmes was seen signing for a group of 19 fans on the east side of the practice field by the bleachers.

It is important that players', coaches', and trainers' families and security are able to go where ever they need to during camp. Since most of these people are coming in from Minneapolis-St.Paul airport, they need a person that is able to drive them to River Falls. One of the couriers that provides this service to the airport is Kyle Cooper. Kyle is a recent University of Wisconsin-River Falls graduate, studying business with an emphasis in marketing. Cooper is from Shoreview, Minn. Not only does Kyle drive the people to the airport, he also drives them various other places, such as the hospital, restaurants, or the Center for Diagnostic Imaging in Woodbury, Minn., so players can get MRIs. Kyle is always on-call to give rides. Cooper enjoys his job and said it is interesting to be able to talk to so many different people. This is Kyle’s second year as a courier.

In an interview after the practice, cornerback Ty Law talked about how he is excited for linebacker Donnie Edwards to join the team. Law also discussed that he is feeling a lot better this season. Of last season playing with a left foot injury, Law said, “I felt 35 percent at best, but right now I feel more around 90 percent.” Although Law is getting older, he is still a proven defensive back, and at one point, the league's best. Law also talked about joining the 50 career interception club. Having Law’s playoff experience is very important to the team; it will help knowing they have a veteran leader.

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).