Tuesday Practice 8/31 Report

From the Truman Sports Complex

With a short week to get ready for Thursday night’s pre-season finale against Green Bay, the Chiefs had what amounted to a Wednesday/Thursday/Friday practice on Tuesday. Todd Haley put his club through a two-hour session where they spent time trying to cram in all the things they would do over three days in a regular season week.

But luckily this is pre-season, and a game that does not count. Haley was unwilling to reveal just how much time his starters would be playing against the Packers, saying final decisions were to be made in a Tuesday afternoon meeting of his staff.

“We had to be on our toes this week and try to get as much done as we could, while keeping in mind the Green Bay game is coming fast,” said Haley. “We do have to give them some offensive, defensive and special team looks that they will see against the Packers.”

The Chiefs started the day getting down to the NFL roster limit of 75 when they released WR Lance Long. He joined the club in the second week of the ’09 season, after spending opening weekend on the roster of the Arizona Cardinals. Long joined the K.C. practice squad but then moved up to the active roster.

Here are some observations from the session: …Read More!

Monday Practice 8/30 Report

From the Truman Sports Complex

With a short week to finish off the pre-season, the Chiefs got back to practice Monday, putting in a two-hour session where they spent most of their time working on corrections from last Friday’s game against Philadelphia and situations.

“We cleaned up some things from the Eagles game and then we were competitive with the two-minute drill,”said head coach Todd Haley. “The guys responded fairly well today.”

The two-minute drill battle between the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense was the highlight of practice. A run off a draw play by Jamaal Charles gave the offense a first down at the defense’s 11-yard line. QB Matt Cassel stopped the clock with a throw into the dirt.

But then his next three passes went incomplete. Cassel threw high to WR Dwayne Bowe at the back of the end zone, with CB Brandon Carr in coverage. On third down, he threw the ball away when everybody was covered. Then on fourth down, Cassel’s throw to WR Chris Chambers was broken up by Carr.

It was a nice bit of work by the first nickel defense that was on the field for that segment

Here are some other observations: …Read More!

Wednesday Night Practice Report

From Arrowhead Stadium

The Chiefs opened the doors to Arrowhead Stadium and a couple thousand fans enjoyed a free taste of the renovated stadium and a two-hour practice from Todd Haley and his team.

The head coach liked the idea of getting his team into the stadium for a look before Friday night’s pre-season game against Philadelphia. It’s a place that a good portion of the roster has never seen and those that have been there might not recognize many parts of the building that underwent a $375 million renovation.

“I’m pretty anxious to get up there and see some of it, and here before too long, once I find a little free time, I want to get up there and take a good look around,” Haley said. “We as a team are really looking forward to this, going up there and getting a feel for our new stadium before we actually hit the field.

Once they did get on the field, the focus was the Philadelphia Eagles and preparing to meet one of the NFC’s better teams on Friday evening.

Here are some observations: …Read More!

Tuesday P.M. Practice Report

From the Truman Sports Complex

Was Tuesday afternoon’s Chiefs practice a moment when the status of DE Tyson Jackson changed?

It sure seemed that way as the Chiefs went through a two-hour workout at their facility, the second practice of the day for Todd Haley’s team.

In all previous practices, Jackson ran with the first-team defense. That was not the case Tuesday afternoon. There were moments when Jackson was with the first unit, but other times he was replaced by DE Wallace Gilberry.

Where it really became visible was when the Chiefs defense was doing scout team work for the Chiefs offense. That’s not normally a chore that falls to the starters, and it did not for DE Glenn Dorsey, NT Ron Edwards, or Gilberry. But Jackson was out there. In one drill, he stayed out there even though the other guys on the defensive line changed twice.

Remember a single practice is but a snapshot in time and does not qualify as an entire movie. This may have been just some coaching experimentation, or the like.

But when a recent No. 1 draft choice who has been a starter is working with the scout team, something is up. Head coach Todd Haley and the players were unavailable following the P.M. practice but they will speak on Wednesday.

Some other observations from practice: …Read More!

Tuesday A.M. Practice Report

From the Truman Sports Complex

It has the feel of a training camp practice – in River Falls, Wisconsin – on Tuesday morning as the Chiefs ran through a two-hour session at their facility.

Cloudy skies kept the sun covered up and temperatures were mild compared to most of the pre-season, with a nice breeze from the north providing even more relief.

“Whoever arranged for the weather today, thank you,” said DE Glenn Dorsey.

The Chiefs were in full pads for this practice, the 28th time this year that they’ve worn shoulder pads for a practice. There was a lot of situational work, especially in the red zone, where the offense produced mixed results and the defense had a good practice.

When they hit the field for practice this afternoon, they’ll spend most of their time going over the Philadelphia Eagles, their opponent Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

Here are some observations from the morning work: …Read More!

Back Home Practice #1 Report

From the Truman Sports Complex

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley had good news to report Monday afternoon on the condition of CB Maurice Leggett.

In Saturday’s game in Tampa Bay, Leggett took a knee to the head/neck area and went down on the field. Trainers and doctors immobilized him, strapped him to a back board and then loaded him on a cart. He was taken to a Tampa hospital where he was kept Saturday night.

While refusing to acknowledge whether Leggett is out of the hospital in Tampa, or back in Kansas City or in some other location, Haley did say that all signs are positive for the third-year cornerback.

“All signs point positive,” Haley said. “The neck and all those issues, the tests came back negative. Sounds like he’ll be able to get back at it sooner rather than later.”

Monday afternoon’s practice was a continuation of the pace and manner of the workouts that were held in St. Joseph. They were in full pads and went for two hours, including a developmental period at the end where players on the second and third team got about 10 live plays, while the starters ran gasers on a adjoining field.

Here are some observations: …Read More!

Last Training Camp Practice Report

From St. Joseph, Missouri

It seemed only appropriate that the Chiefs final practice of training camp at Missouri Western State University would go down under sunny skies, high temperatures and muggy air. If there’s one thing this camp will be remembered for after the return to Missouri was the extreme weather conditions the Chiefs dealt with in practice.

They didn’t seem to mind much on Thursday afternoon as practice No. 23 went in the books for a two-hour session that was short on physicality and contact and long on mental reps and planning for Saturday’s pre-season game in Tampa against the Buccaneers.

“I was encouraged coming in Day No. One and I’m still encouraged so I would say we’re either on schedule or a little ahead,” said head coach Todd Haley about his team’s three-week stay on campus. “I haven’t felt any major dips.

The Chiefs seemed to work more on plans and plays for Saturday against the Bucs than they did last week in prepping to play the Falcons. It could be because of the outcome of that game, and especially the slow start that had Haley and staff working on more identification of opponent’s plays and schemes.

When the Chiefs leave for Tampa on Friday they will likely leave four players behind – QB Brodie Croyle, RB Kestahn Moore, FS Jon McGraw and G Darryl Harris.

Here are some observations from a hot afternoon: …Read More!

Training Camp Practice #22 Report

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Under the lights at Spratt Stadium and in front of a crowd placed at more than 3,000 fans, the Chiefs took another step towards wrapping up their training camp stay at Missouri Western State University. The two-hour night practice was the next to last workout on campus.

The Chiefs will practice Thursday afternoon, then will do a walkthrough on Friday morning before hitting the road back to Kansas City to catch a flight to Tampa for Saturday’s pre-season game No.2 against the Buccaneers.

It was a nice crowd, but certainly the smallest of the three events that were staged inside Spratt Stadium. After a very physical morning practice, Todd Haley slowed the pace down a little bit in the evening practice, as they worked hard on situations.

Here are some observations from the practice: …Read More!

Training Camp Practice #21 Report

From St. Joseph, Missouri

It was a warm, muggy morning for the first of two Chiefs practices on Wednesday. With a workout this evening under the lights, that may have held down attendance, because it was one of the smallest crowds in three weeks at Missouri Western State University.

The players came out at the start of practice and were a bit lackadaisical compared to previous sessions and they soon heard about it from the coaching staff. Todd Haley and his guys have been working hard this week on getting the players up and moving quickly into the practice. They want to combat what happened last Friday night in the pre-season opener down in Atlanta where it seemed the Chiefs did not wake up until late in the first quarter.

Right off the bat Wednesday morning the offense wasn’t getting it done and coordinator Charlie Weis could be heard two fields away screaming at them to “wake up.” Folks in the graveyard on the other side of I-29 from campus heard Weis rip his guys.

Later, during the situation period the players appeared to be walking through the drill which was based on the offense having no timeouts, needing a touchdown and thus forced to throw the ball on the sidelines. When they stumbled through this a few times, Haley lit them up verbally with a blast. When QB Tyler Palko threw a pass short of a receiver on the sideline, Haley blasted him, calling into question his intelligence and homeland. What some of the fans who reacted to the coach’s harangue don’t know is that Palko grew up in a western Pennsylvania village about 15 miles away from where Haley grew up.

At the end, things were much better as they went to a live goal-line period and the first defense and first offense got after each other.

Here’s what happened: …Read More!

Training Camp Practice #20 Report

From St. Joseph, Missouri

At Prattville High School in Alabama and then during his college career with the Crimson Tide at the University of Alabama, Bobby Greenwood played defense. Only defense.

Until Tuesday afternoon’s Chiefs practice at Missouri Western State University. Greenwood was still wearing a jersey with the No. 74, but it was now a white jersey of the offense, not the red jersey of the defense.

Greenwood found out Tuesday that he was going to be an offensive lineman. The Chiefs injury situation along the offensive line was such that they needed a body to help out in practice. He did that a bit in 2009 when he spent the entire season on the Chiefs practice squad. Those guys will play any number of positions for show teams to help the offense or defense.

But this wasn’t show team work on Tuesday. He took snaps in pass protection, dueling with guys that just the day before he was sharing a meeting room with. He took some reps during team work as an offensive tackle.

And as far as the first-year player knows, on Wednesday he’ll still be an offensive lineman.

“They told me to play offensive line, I play offensive line,” Greenwood said. “I talked a little bit with the coaches before practice. Wherever I can get a spot on this team, I’m willing to do it.”

What’s hard to tell at this point is whether Greenwood’s move is just temporary to get through the week. Here’s what’s going on with the line situations: …Read More!

Training Camp Practice #19 Report

From St. Joseph, Missouri

There was no double-bill for the Chiefs on Monday. After their morning practice was cancelled by Todd Haley so the team could go to the movies, they were back on the field in the afternoon and put in a strong two-hour practice.

The head coach was pushing competitive to his team and despite the fact they were out there without the normal football pants and the pads that go with them, there was contact galore and some very enthusiastic and head-thumping line play.

Offensive line was a problem in the afternoon workout because by the time the practice was over, they were down to 10 available offensive linemen. They have 14 on the roster, but three of them started practice in the rehab area and they were joined halfway through practice by another blocker.

“This is training camp and if you don’t bang each other a lot, then physically you are not ready to go,” said offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. “I’m confident we’ll have everyone geared up and ready to go as the pre-season goes a long and we get into the season.”

Here’s how the Chiefs were juggling the offensive line in the workout and other observations: …Read More!

Chiefs Go To The Movies-Update

From St. Joseph, Missouri

On one of the most pleasant mornings in the Chiefs stay here at Missouri Western State University, the players made their way down the hill from the locker room and onto the practice fields and began going through their normal pre-practice routines.

That’s when Todd Haley threw the bone.

Haley called the players together and told them to walk back up the hill, change back into their street clothes and head out to the buses in the parking lot. They were going to take part in a team building moment. The morning practice was over.

After a 15-minute bus ride, the team arrived at Hollywood Theaters in the Shoppes of North Village on Belt Highway. From there, the players had about a half-dozen movies to pick from, with the head coach picking up the tab at the concession stand. “But I reminded them that we have weigh in,” Haley said.

The head coach watched The Other Guys, comedy featuring Will Farrell and as Haley said showing his age “Marky Mark” otherwise known today as Mark Wahlberg. So how did he like it? “I couldn’t hear most of it because Shaun Smith was sitting behind me and he was snoring,” Haley said. “I’ve never heard a human snore that loud.”

P Dustin Colquitt watched Dinner With The Schmucks and gave it 3.5 stars out of four. “It’s a funny movie,” he said.

The most attended showing was the action flick The Expendables. That’s where DE Glenn Dorsey went. “It was good, a lot of action,” said Dorsey. “We had a lot of guys in there.”

The goal for Haley was simply to give his team a break from the monotony of camp and have them still do something together. …Read More!

Training Camp Practice #18 Report

(THE CHIEFS HAVE CHANGED THE START TIME OF MONDAY’S SECOND PRACTICE. IT WILL BEGIN AT 4:30 P.M. THE MONDAY MORNING PRACTICE IS INSIDE AND NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.)

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The Chiefs were back to work on Sunday afternoon and despite their loss in the pre-season opener in Atlanta, that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the red and gold fans.

A crowd of over 3,600 was on the campus of Missouri Western State University to watch the two-hour session in full pads. It was a hot Sunday, but nowhere near the temperatures that dominated the first two weeks of camp.

What that big crowd saw was a team that kept hearing their head coach yelling about tempo. Todd Haley thinks his team was caught off-guard by the high tempo that the Atlanta Falcons displayed on Friday night. He doesn’t want that to happen again.

So Haley and the staff went on and on about speeding things up, going faster. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis entertained the crowd with his banter as the offensive skill position players ran through a tackling machine. There was no mercy in his heckling of players that ran with their head down or did not protect the football.

There were some injuries that came out of the 20-10 loss, but nothing appeared to be serious. Remember, the Chiefs do not talk about injuries during the pre-season. They don’t even acknowledge that anything has happened.

Here’s the injury situation and a couple changes to the starting units that we observed in Sunday’s work: …Read More!

Training Camp Practice #17 Report

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Outside the sun was beating down on the grass practice fields at Missouri Western State University. The empty grass practice fields on this Wednesday afternoon.

Coach Todd Haley took his team inside to work in the second of the day’s two practices. There were multiple reasons why.

“It gives us a chance to beat the heat, but the No. 1 reason is we are playing in a dome and on (artificial) turf,” Haley said. “We have a chance to practice in the atmosphere we will see Friday night in Atlanta.”

So the two-hour practice went down with a lot of work done preparing both the offense and defense for the Falcons. There’s no game plan in place for this game with the Chiefs, but the coaches wanted them to be familiar with some of the plays like are likely to see.

They also practiced another part of every game: half-time. That’s right, they practiced half-time. About 90 minutes into practice, Haley blew the whistle and the players left the indoor field and went back to their locker room. They spent approximately 10 minutes there, and then came back out for the rest of practice.

And the first thing the Chiefs did when they started the “second half” was work on their kickoff return.

All of this came at the suggestion of assistant head coach Maurice Carthon.

“It’s an area of the game where we really struggled last year,” Haley said. “We’ve got this nice setup here so we’ll see how it goes.”

Here are some afternoon practice observations: …Read More!

Training Camp Practice #16 Report

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The outdoor oven that has been northwest Missouri for the last two weeks continued Wednesday morning. But luckily for the Chiefs, there was a nice breeze coming out of the south that provided a bit of relief as they when through their first of two practices today.

As practices go it was less than inspiring, especially in the early going as there seemed to be little enthusiasm for matters of football. Ultimately it seemed that everything got back on track towards the end of the session, that ended with a long talk from head coach Todd Haley to his team.

Another guy that has been talking to the team is veteran RB Thomas Jones. This is his 11th NFL training camp and he’s seen plenty during his career and according to Haley, Jones is willing to share that knowledge in constructive ways.

“I’m here to help win football games and the way you do that is to work hard, doing the extra little things – those are the kind of things I try to bring to the team,” Jones said. “It’s been a tough camp with the weather and the typical grind of training camp. Guys are really pushing, working hard and doing the things that we need to do to get better.”

Here are some observations from the morning practice: …Read More!