Afternoon Practice Update 8/13

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Although the Chiefs will practice on Thursday, their workout Wednesday afternoon was their last practice of training camp with full shoulder pads and contact.  They turned in a very spirited session.  Although the contact is supposed to be minimal, these guys are going so fast right now it’s hard for them to turn down the tempo.  At one point in the practice, RB Larry Johnson got upset with DT Tank Tyler for a little extra contact and let him know about it.  Tyler just looked at him and smiled.  RB Jamaal Charles didn’t like being roughed up on one play, and he ended up throwing the ball at a Chiefs defender.  That was mental mistake No. 2 for the rookie, as he would have been penalized on they play.

Mental mistake No. 1 for Charles came when the Chiefs were running the four-minute offense.  This is like a reverse two-minute drill.  The offense had 3 minutes, 58 seconds to burn off the clock, the ball at their own 19-yard line, a two-point lead and the Chiefs defense had three timeouts to stop the clock.  The idea is that if the offense manages the clock right and gets three first downs, there’s no way the other team gets the football back.

On a third down play, Charles caught a short pass from QB Brodie Croyle and picked up a first down, but he then ran out of bounds, stopping the clock.  Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey ran almost as fast as Charles did to tell his rookie he needed to stay in bounds.  Ultimately, however, the offense was able to kill the clock and keep the ball away from the defense.

Some other plays to remember: Croyle hit TE Tony Gonzalez on a bootleg where he threw a pretty pass on the run … TE J.P. Foschi, who is fighting for a roster spot, completely blew a play where the pass was thrown deep to him by QB Damon Huard, but he never looked for the ball and it fell incomplete … S Bernard Pollard had a big hit on RB Kolby Smith in space … Huard hit WR Dewayne Bowe on a pretty double move down the right sideline for a touchdown over rookie CB Maurice Leggett, who didn’t get deep help from Tyron Brackenridge … Hustling DE Tamba Hali made a tackle on a screen pass to the other side of the field, fighting through numerous attempted blocks.

RT Damion McIntosh (knee) took a rest in this workout.  DE Turk McBride (hamstring) did not go and the participation of DE Brian Johnston (hamstring) was limited as well.  S Jarrad Page was hampered by a headache and missed some snaps, but it’s not considered anything serious.

DT Glenn Dorsey got his regular ration of 10 to 12 plays.  Head coach Herm Edwards said the Chiefs would decide on Saturday whether the No. 1 pick would play against Arizona at Arrowhead Stadium.