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Wednesday, August 8, 2007: Family Fun Night

More than 1,500 Chiefs fans packed Ramer Field stadium at tonight’s Family Fun Night. The event included activities such as face painting, an autograph session, a parachute team, a team practice, and an award ceremony recognizing the winners of the Punt, Pass, & Kick contest. The balmy night was topped off by a brilliant fireworks display. A few fans felt sparse drops of rain, but showers held off. The temperature was 79 degrees, with a dew point of 65. The humidity was heavy in the air at 62 percent, but a small breeze from the east south-east at 4 miles per hour assisted in tolerating the weather.

Offense

From the 10-yard line, the offensive line-up started practice with a walk-through drill. A quarterback took the snap, then handed the ball off to a ball carrier who proceeded toward the end zone as the rest of the line up jogged forward. From there, the offense split up for drills designed for each position.

Ball carriers went one-on-one; one player with a blocking pad rode another player who carried the ball. The ball carriers practiced the proper technique for protecting the ball on the run.  The line also went one-on-one to work on driving a defender back for a pass-block. Quarterbacks gave each other 10 to 15 yard passes while tight ends ran 15-yard routes to the middle for a pass from an assistant coach. Recievers rehearshed changing speed and direction to get open for passes to the sideline; the ran about twenty yards without any defenders. Quarterback Jeff Terrell gave hand-offs and outlets to ball carriers after they broke from the end zone.

Kicker Justin Medlock nailed all five of his kicks through the up-rights and beat his teammates' test. They hasseled Medlock as he  kicked from the 25, 30, 34, 42 and 53-yard lines. There was no rush on the kick, but fans enjoyed the show and audibly responded to each ball fired through the goal post. The offense finished warming up with a drill that ran through the motions of the run game. Defenders with pads gave small hits to ball carriers who jogged the ball through the appropreate routes. Quarterbacks Damon Huard, Casey Printers and Brodie Croyle all split reps handing the ball off. The drill’s purpose was simply to practice positioning and assignments for a variety of run plays.

The rest of practice consisted of an 11-on-11 drill. The drill ran at a moderate tempo, and hitting was allowed in the red zone. Play continued beyond the whistle. Quarterback Brodie Croyle led the first unit of 21 reps and was 9-12 in passing. Tight end Tony Gonzalez caught an eight-yard pass off a roll to the left for a touchdown after Croyle faked a hand-off. Later on, Croyle turned up the heat with two well-executed back-to-back plays. He paired up with wide receiver Chris Hannon; Croyle launched a 38-yard pass cross right field to Hannon on the right sideline, who successfully created space between him and his defender. The second was a fast pass to Hannon in the middle that zipped by the flailing arms of two defensemen. Quarterback Damon Huard took the snap 18 times and completed 4-7 passes. Wide receiver Rod Gardner fumbled a 15-yard pass from Huard to the right side of the field. Wide receiver Ean Randolph ran a route from the left side of the field to the middle and recieved a 7-yard pass from Huard and held onto it, despite being smacked down by cornerback Benny Sapp, who hit at his right side. Quarterback Casey Printers got in 15 reps with the third unit, and was 5-7 in passing, throwing one interception. Fullback Boomer Grigsby and Gardner juggled the ball when receiving passes from Printers. Grigsby juggled the ball on a left outlet, but gathered it together just before going out of bounds; a 13-yard pass to the right sideline bounced off Gardner’s fingertips, but he stuck with it and snatched the pass to earn a completion.

Defense

Tonight the defense got to practice under the bright lights of Ramer Field stadium. After stretching, the defense stayed on the south side of Ramer Field to do their drills. They did not work on the sleds during this practice, but instead worked on interception, formation, and rushing drills. At 7:25 p.m, it started to rain slightly, but did not last very long.

The defense was hitting a bit harder than normal, trying to excite the fans. On a play were the defense was working on their goal line defense, linebacker Keyaron Fox charged into the back field, but a line pushed up on his helmet and he fell to the ground. Running back Derrick Ross ran past Fox, but collided with linebacker Rich Scanlon, causing them both to fall down.

The defensive backs did a great job on staying close to the wide receivers locking them up. The linebackers picked up the running backs and tight ends on pass plays. The coverage was tight, forcing quarterback Damon Huard to take a few sacks, one of which was made by defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson.

The defensive backs were running hard and in good pursuit of the ball. Safety Greg Wesley was quick to the ball, breaking up a pass that was intended for wide receiver Eddie Kennison. Quarterback Brodie Croyle tried to squeeze the ball to him, but as the ball got to Kennison, so did Wesley, disrupting the play.

On the last series of the practice, the Chiefs' offense worked on trying to score quickly. This drill was set up to get the young guys used to going into and getting out of the huddle quickly. Quarterback Casey Printers was able to take his team down the field, using short passes to the outside. Printers did not wait until the last second to take a shot at the end zone. Through out the entire drive, the defense refused to press the wide receivers, or get any pressure on Printers. Printers ran a slant route down the middle of the field to wide receiver Rod Gardner, hitting him with the ball right in the numbers printed on his jersey. Cornerback Dimitri Patterson was behind Gardner and could not catch up to him in time to swat the ball away.

Fans

Katie Baringer, 13, of River Falls had tears of joy in her eyes after the autograph session. Baringer got not only a hug from Punter Dustin Colquitt but a kiss as well. “I will never wash this cheek again,” explained Baringer. Baringer attended tonight’s Family Fun Night with friend Ayana Ngayen, 11, also of River Falls. Rest assured these girls will never forget this night.

Sofia Anderson, 15, and younger sister Sage, 13, of Wayzata, Minn., were excited to be in River Falls for their third Family Fun Night. Every year these two young ladies come here with their aunt and uncle to try and get as many autographs as they can; this year is no different. “We finally got Tony Gonzalez’s autograph - we’ve always wanted it,” said Sage. 

Cheryl and Matthew Shedgwik of Hastings, Minn., enjoyed some refreshments from the concession stand and were excited to watch the Chiefs practice and the fireworks at the end. They plan on attending next year if the Chiefs come back to River Falls.

Craig and Hildi Hunter of Minneapolis, Minn., and their son, Colin, 5, attended tonight’s Family Fun Night for their first time. Colin squealed with excitement when explaining who signed his pint-sized Chiefs jersey. “Priest Holmes drew on my shirt!” said Colin, proudly turning around to point out the autograph. The Hunter family also received autographs from defensive end Jared Allen and fullback Boomer Grigsby.

Sara Dehn, a recent UWRF graduate and former Public Affairs intern for the Kansas City Chiefs Summer Training Camp, was present tonight at Family Fun Night to lend a hand. Dehn assisted the current interns in handing out trophies to the winners of the Punt, Pass, & Kick event, which was held after practice. Dehn said she had a great time coming back to camp and was delighted to see Chiefs employees that she met last summer during her internship.

Erin and Ryan Kratochvil from Crystal, Minn., were present this evening for their second time at Family Fun Night. The Kratochvils love coming to camp to see the players and get the chance to receive autographs. Erin did not receive autographs this year, but instead took pictures of her favorite players including linebacker Donnie Edwards, running back Priest Holmes and Head Coach Herm Edwards. The Kratochvils plan to keep attending Family Fun Night as long as the Chiefs continue training camp in River Falls.

Mellissa DeJarlais, from Anoka, Minn., was at her second Family Fun Night this summer. DeJarlais enjoys coming to camp in River Falls because she likes the close-knit community, as well as meeting other Chiefs fans. DeJarlais was also thrilled to see her favorite player guard John Welbourn. She hopes to receive autographs tonight from players including defensive end Jared Allen, running back Priest Holmes and linebacker Donnie Edwards.

Michael Potts, from Bozeman, Mon., attended his first ever Family Fun Night. Potts, who was excited to see Head Coach Herm Edwards interact with the team in person. Potts also received an autograph from running back Priest Holmes. He told Holmes that he was from Montana, to which Holmes replied, “I hear the fishing is good there.” Potts had a great time being able to see his favorite Chiefs players live, and be able to spend time with friends.

Extra, Extra...

Tackle Chris Terry celebrated his birthday on the field tonight. During the autograph session, one small fan could be heard shouting “Happy birthday, Chris!” from his perch on his father’s hip.

Heather Hoffman, a senior at UWRF, pitched in at the concessions stand for tonight’s event. Midway through the night, Hoffman said they were already sold out of many popular items. “Basically anything that you can autograph, we’re out of,” said Hoffman. “We’re out of player cards, pennants, and Sharpie markers. Pretty much everything is gone but the mini helmets.”

After practice ended this evening, a few lucky fans received extra autographs from running back Michael Bennett and tight end Michael Allan.

Head Coach Herm Edwards answered some questions after practice during his typical daily interview. Edwards said, “I thought the tempo of the practice was good, that’s important. We are one day away after tomorrow'a practice to play in a game.” Edwards made sure to note that everyone was going to play. He said, “The young players are going to play a lot, right now it’s scheduled; if you’re a young player, you’re going to play in this contest. They deserve to play, whether you’re the third-string tackle; if you’re available, you’re going to play in this game.” Edwards said he is looking forward to this game to see what his players are capable of doing.

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).