Afternoon Practice Update 8/9
From River Falls, Wisconsin
It was the best and worst of times for DE Alfonso Boone on Saturday as the Chiefs returned to practice here in the northwoods.
Earlier in the day, Boone found out he had been replaced in the starting lineup at LDE by second-year man Turk McBride. Whether this move will stick remains to be seen, because Herm Edwards and Gunther Cunnigham continue to make moves with the starting 11 on defense, trying to find the right combinations.
There was some coaching staff unhappiness with Boone’s play against Chicago. Edwards was not speaking specifically of Boone when he said “there are a lot of positions still open. We want players to do it the way we want to do it.”
Boone is still part of the No. 1 nickel package and that put him on the field for the first drive of the two-minute drill. He picked off QB Brodie Croyle’s pass on the very first play, thus ending the possession.
Originally scheduled to have two practices on Saturday, Edwards altered the schedule and had just one workout in the afternoon. Missing from the work were G Tre Stallings (knee), LB Napoleon Harris (knee), WR Kevin Robinson (knee), LT Branden Albert (foot) and DE Trevor Johnson (concussion).
DT Glenn Dorsey and RB Kolby Smith both returned to the practice field, but they took part only in individual drills. Dorsey is wearing a brace on his left knee. Smith is coming back from a groin pull. The Chiefs will see how both players react to the work and schedule the rest of their practice week accordingly.
Chiefs also made a roster move, returning T Ken Shackleford to the team and releasing CB Will Poole. Shackleford was with the club through the off-season program, but was released in July. Albert’s injury forced the need for another body there.
As for the practice itself, the offense and defense were about even in this one. Besides Boone’s interception in the first attempt at the two-minute drill, LB Wes Dacus ended the second attempt with another interception. QB Tyler Thigpen was flushed from the pocket and tried to shovel the ball off on the run to RB Jamaal Charles. The ball went through Charles hands and Dacus grabbed the INT.
CB Maurice Leggett also had an INT of Thigpen in team work, plus the rookie out of Valdosta State made a very nice play on a jump ball in the end zone, knocking it to the ground. The receiver was starter Dwayne Bowe, who is three inches and 30 pounds heavier.
The kickers worked on Saturday and both Nick Novak and Connor Barth were 3-for-3 from 35, 40 and 45 yards away.
The Chiefs will have a special teams workout Sunday morning and then a full practice Sunday afternoon.
Bob, Do you think they will keep Boone at DE or move him back to DT. I thought he looked good against the Bears. He would beat his guy but he isnt fast enough to get to the QB.
Why would Boone only come back in on the nickel package? Are they seriously going to have Ron Edwards at DT while Boone is on the bench?
I haven’t understood this “Boone at DE” thing since they talked about it on day one of the draft. McBride, Boone, Dorsey, Hali, what’s the problem with that front four?
I don’t think it matters where Boone is. I’m hearing that Tank is really impressing everyone. I think we will see Tank and Dorsey as our starters very soon.
Boone is not a DE, and is just a rotation guy at DT, who is OK if played sparingly. Very good news that McBride is replacing him at DE, and hopefully Boone to DE is over, never to be seen again.
I liked Boone at DT last year and think he is a powerful one. But yah, everyone should have seen how slow he was in the first preseason game when he beat his man on a pass play and looked like he was in slow motion on the chase. Turk, Dorsy and Hali on all plays and rotate Boone, Tank and Edwards. Middle LB worries me more.
Tyler Thigpen seems to throw a lot of ints…
Bob-
My family holds season tickets at WVU and would like to know if DE Johnny Dingle has any chance of making the team this year?
Thanks!
Hey Bob…Great Website!!! I have a question I hope you can get to. How do players get paid? I hear the term “game check” all the time but do the get paid in the off season as well? What about a rookie free agent that signs with a team, goes through all the offseason programs but gets cut before the season? Does he get paid for the time he was there? Just wondering how all that works! Thanks for a reply and again for the site!
Time to answer a few of your questions
To Adam on Johnny Dingle: right now Dingle hasn’t shown anything that would make him a contender for a roster spot right now. He could be a practice squad guy. But if the Chiefs keep four DEs that will be McBride, Hali, Johnston and Boone. If they keep five, the next guy looks like it would be Jason Parker.
To remember 58: players get paid each week during the pre-season. This year rookies get $800 a week while veterans receive $1,225 per week and then another $200 per week in the four weeks where they play games. Once the regular season starts, the remaining players receive 17 game checks, one after every game and then the bye week. For instance, if the player has a base salary of $1 million for the season, he will receive $58,823.53 every week.
Anonymous: Thigpen does throw too many INTs right now. Most young quarterbacks do. His future will depend on learning from his mistakes. A lot of Thigpen’s bad throws come on the run, when he feels compelled to throw rather than just dump the ball away. He’ll learn, or he’ll be gone.
On Alfonso Boone: A lot of comment and chatter on Boone. Right now, Boone’s problem has more to do with attitude than ability. Some Chiefs coaches think since he’s always been a backup, he doesn’t know how to handle a starting position. They are hoping this demotion lights a fire under him.
Plus, fans seem to discount the role that Ron Edwards plays. That’s easy to do, because he’s not flashy and he’s not going to get you sacks. But he usually ties up two people when he plays and that’s huge in the Chiefs ability to stop the opposing team’s running game. Boone is inside at DT in the nickel.
Once Glenn Dorsey is back and healthy, it would not surprise me to see a front four of McBride-Dorsey-Tyler-McBride. Edwards and T.J. Jackson would rotate inside with Johnston and Boone rotating outside.
I am happy to hear that Turk is getting a shot, I really prefer boone in the nickel D at DE if he must, but I like him more at DT, he made a few plays last game where he knocked the ball down at the LOS from the DT position…
Turk looked like a different player, he didnt reach the QB, but if Dorsey/Edwards are in the middle and if Tank can steal some reps, KC will be in a great position.
In my opinion EJ Kuale is a waste of roster space at this point, he was out of position all day.
With Adrian Jones struggling, what are the odds of finally looking at Lecharles Bentley, or at least moving Taylor back inside to RG.
Also, at reciever, Bowe/Franklin(looked really good)Darling/Webb all seem to be roster locks, if Robinson comes back, I question the last space open due to the fan favorite Sippio, and the much more polished, faster Maurice Price…If Price is let go, it would be a big mistake.
Hi Bob,I have a couple of questions for you first why is everyone willing to give Green Bay QB Aarron Rodgers the benefit of the doubt that he can play in the league when he has been hurt in limited duty and has less playing time than Brodie Croyle,but local & national media write Brodie off as a starter? Secondly with Arrowhead Stadium undergoing a remodling job,I think it would be a good time to have a new look on the field as well.The Chiefs are one of the few teams in professional sports that have never really made serious uniform changes.I’ve heard some people talk about tradition but there are alot of sports teams with winning traditions that have made changes. Patriots,Broncos,Chargers,Redskins,Eagles,Celtics,LA Lakers, KC Royals, just to name a few.Bob I never understood why they refer to the Chiefs as the Red & Gold when they barely have Gold in their Uniforms except for the trim.The Chiefs have arguably one the best logos in pro sports but only use it on their helmets.I would suggest placing the logo on the jersey sleeve, and adding gold pants to the color scheme. And how about a alternate Jersey (Gold or Black).Bob I would like to know what the rest of the Chiefs nation think if possible. Thanks Mario Bartee,Kansas City, MO.
Gold pants ? : (
Although I do like the idea of the ‘logo’ on the uniform