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Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007: Training Camp News

Gray skies gave way to rays of sun during this morning's practice and second Kids' Day. Some 450 fans, including 208 children, made UWRF's Ramer Field into a sea of red and gold. The temperature was 79 degrees, with high humidity of 76 percent. The dew point was 71, and a slight breeze blew in from the west at six miles per hour.

Offense

Running back Priest Holmes, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, fullback Greg Hanoian and offensive guard Chris Bober participated in specialized conditioning workouts. Bowe used the width of the field to do multiple callisthenics. Assistant strength and conditioning coach Brent Salazar demonstrated the exercises that Bowe was to perform. One of them required Bowe to go from a push up position into a bridge; he did that by walking his feet up toward his arms. Holmes and Hanoian ran the length of the field. They started out with a jog, then moved on to an accelerated sprint for 50 yards. They finished with full out sprints rotating between 20-30 yards as instructed by Strength and Conditioning Coach Cedric Smith. Bober ran one width of the field then walked another multiple times.

The Chiefs warmed up with many of the same fundamental drills they have throughout the duration of training camp, but the line switched it up a bit. Members of the line took turns running a drill that required them to side-step over a flat foot-wide rubber barrier into a diving block. A rectangular pad was set on top of a big blue mat that was used for the players to land on. Receivers ran curls around cones for five yards to the sideline. They concentrated on shortening their steeps as they approached the sideline to rehearse for those times they need to keep the ball in play when going for the pass. After quarterbacks warmed up with short flats to one another, they joined the receivers for a drill that focused on mid-range passes to the sidelines. Ball carriers took the ball on five-yard runs towards the side of the field and worked one-on-one during a short blocking drill.

The offense next did what resembled a formal walk-through. The purpose was simply to get the plays down so that players know where they need to be and when they need to be there. There was no rushing or hitting allowed during the drill. Offensive Coordinator Mike Solari was not happy with the players' performances, "Concentrate. We've got to get better; collectively every player, every coach," he yelled.

For the first time at camp, the Chiefs used the width of the field for 11-on-11 action. Quarterbacks Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard split reps and strictly gave hand-offs to running backs Kolby Smith, Michael Bennett, Marcus O'Keith and Derrick Ross. Kicker Justin Medlock and punter Dustin Colquitt stood in at the wide receiver positions as while receivers took passes from quarterback Jeff Terrell. Two receivers went out for mid-range passes to the sides of the field and each were covered by one defender.

Also new was a drill that put seven defenders on two to three offensive players. The offense would send in different combinations each rep such as a tight end and fullback or a running back and two receivers. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe watched as quarterbacks Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle and Casey Printers led units as play makers. Croyle came out with the first unit for seven reps and was 5-7 in passing. Croyle tried to sail a 14-yard pass across left field to tight end Tony Gonzalez at the sideline, but it was almost intercepted by safety Jarrad Page who couldn't quite hang on to the ball. Huard took the snap from an assistant coach six times and earned one incomplete on a left outlet to running back Michael Bennett in which Bennett dropped the pass. Wide receiver Titus Ryan received a 13-yard pass from Huard after he flashed into the middle of the field from the right sideline and split off three surrounding defenders. Printers led a crew for five reps. He paired up with wide receiver Rod Gardner for a nice play up the middle of the field. Gardner curled in from the right sideline and Printers hit him with a quick 11-yard pass.

Left tackle Damion McIntosh did not practice after hurting his right knee during yesterday's afternoon practice. Tackles Kyle Turley and Will Svitek filled the position this morning.

Defense

This morning defensive end Tamba Hali worked individually with Defensive Line Coach Tim Krumrie. They worked on a drill where Krumrie swatted and punched at Hali, while Hali blocked his arms, similar to a drill boxers would perform. Krumrie slowly pushed Hali backwards while Hali tried to keep his balance. The whole time this was going on NFL Films was right there to watch.

Defensive tackle Alfonso Boone was in spiders this morning, showing improvement in his hand injury. Claude 'Turk' McBride took the right tackle spot for Boone and should get a lot of work in this weekend's pre-season game against the Cleveland Browns. Giving Turk reps is important, because he will be rotated in during the season. Any experience he can gain in camp or during the pre-season is very important.

Head Coach Herm Edwards and linebacker Napoleon Harris joked around during practice as Edwards had Harris, cornerback Ty Law and linebacker Derrick Johnson do a set of barrel rolls. Edwards jokingly said, "You need to practice this, you'll be on the ground a lot." Edwards told the players to make sure to stay low during the drill, while each player jumped and rolled over each other.

As the defensive line drilled, Assistant Coach Tim Krumrie motivated his players to go faster. As camp goes on the players' legs are getting more and more tired, and they need to dig deep for energy. Players performed a drill where Krumrie rolled a large orange ball at the players, and then they pushed it back to them. During this drill Krumrie yelled, "You got to hit him, not lean on him! You've got to hit them or they'll cut you down!" Followed later by, "[Montez] Murphy, hit the damn ball!"

After the drills the team converged on field No. 3, where the defensive line and the offensive line worked against each other. Defensive end Jared Allen pushed back offensive tackle Will Svitek in to the back field, getting around him with ease. A coach yelled from the side, "Come on Will!" It is necessary that Svitek shows that he is a capable offensive tackle, now that starting left tackle Damion McIntosh has gone down with a knee sprain and is currently week-to-week. Not having McIntosh will also hurt the defensive line, now they will not have as highly of an experienced player to go up against during practice.

During an 11-on-11 series against quarterback Damon Huard, the defense was able to shut down his offense. In a string of plays, safety Jon McGraw did an excellent job coming in on the outside, rushing the passer and also plugging up the middle on handoffs. Along with McGraw's outstanding performance on this series, defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson and linebacker Keyaron Fox combined forces and sacked Huard. Also during this series veteran cornerback Ty Law made an interception on an over-throw by Huard. Wide receiver Rod Gardner reached out for the ball, but Law was already going the other way with it.

It was not all amazing plays and domination by the defense this morning. On the next series quarterback Brodie Croyle came in and completely picked apart the Chiefs' defensive backs. Croyle was able to thread the ball through defenders, throwing a couple of touchdown passes, spoiling the defense performance against quarterback Damon Huard.

Special Teams

Kicker Justin Medlock warmed up with a handful of on-side kicks before an air horn cued the rest of the special teams unit to begin a kick-off drill, which specialized in the recovery of the on-side kick. The return team practiced picking up the on-side kick and then pitching to a designated ball carrier for the run down field. The first unit was made up of safety Bernard Pollard, linebackers William Kershaw, Keyaron Fox and Rich Scanlon, tight ends Kris Wilson and Keith Willis, running back Marcus O'Keith, wide receiver Ean Randolph, center Rudy Niswanger, fullback Boomer Grigsby, and defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson. Coaching the unit through the drill special teams Assistant Coach Mike Priefer said, "The clock does not start until we touch the ball; make a play."

Extra, Extra...

The HBO program "Hard Knocks," featuring the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp, premieres Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 9 p.m. CST. The most popular program on the cable channel, "Hard Knocks" will follow the Chiefs for their five weeks of training camp at UWRF and in Kansas City. Each week, the show will feature an hour of camp activities. The program is coordinated by NFL Films President Steven Sabol, who received the NFL Hall of Fame Pioneer Award this previous Saturday. Sabol is the recipient of 35 Emmy Awards for writing, cinematography, editing, directing, and producing.  No one in all of television has earned as many Emmys in as many different categories. Sabol also hosts the studio's Emmy award-winning series "NFL Films Presents." Editing of this week's program will continue until early Wednesday morning as HBO's New Jersey studio finishes the final touches on footage shot by an on-field production crew of 26, including six UWRF students. Presently, next week's episode is slated to include a segment on River Falls and the university. For a preview of "Hard Knocks," visit http://www.hbo.com/hardknocks/?ntrack_para1=leftnav_category4_show1.

After practice this morning, Head Coach Herm Edwards spoke about how the practice session. Edwards said, "Guys are a little bit sore; this week is a sore week." When asked about how much if any planning would happen before this Saturday's pre-season game against the Cleveland Browns, Edwards said, "We hardly do any planning at all. We usually do a little bit for the third game with the young guys using cards, practicing our offense and defense. We [the coaching staff] will discuss player rotation at a staff meeting Thursday night. We need to figure out how much the starters and back-ups are going to play, really trying to get everyone in the football game. [Quarterback] Brodie [Croyle] will be working with the first group; next week [quarterback] Damon [Huard] will be the starter with the first group. Brodie is going to get more snaps then Damon in the preseason, because Brodie is a young quarterback, and Damon is a veteran and doesn't need as many snaps." When asked if Edwards would care about the outcome of the Saturday's preseason game, Edwards said, "You want to win, there is no doubt about it. I put it on the young guys to show me they can win a football game. I like winning. When you win it's a lot easier to come home, off the airplane, on the road. You feel better."

Former Chiefs offensive guard Will Shields was at practice this morning. A reporter asked if Edwards would try and convince him to come back. Edwards said, "I never do that to players. I think he's done, and the only thing on his mind right now is that he had a great career. It's good to see him here. He'll grab some of those young guys and give them some work."

More than 200 youngsters showed up for the second of two Kids' Days at Chiefs camp.With face painting, tattoos, balloons, prizes donated by UWRF Concessions, McDonalds and Dairy Queen; there was also mini-golf, a football toss, a wading pool with ducks and coloring, and a visit from KC Wolf. To top off this great day, several Chiefs players signed autographs for kids and adult fans alike. Thank you to everyone who came out for the Kids' Days!  

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).