Mini-Camp Practice #4 Report

From the Truman Sports Complex

Saturday morning’s rain kept the Chiefs  indoors for their afternoon practice, the fourth of five scheduled for the three-day mini-camp.

There was a lot of action in all three phases of the game. The offense worked almost exclusively out of the shotgun with one-back/three wide receiver alignment. The defense continued to shuffle players in, including the No. 1 unit. The special teams worked on kick returns and we got our first look at who is among the possible returners in the view of the coaching staff.

The primary kick returners were rookies WR/RB Dexter McCluster and CB Javier Arenas. But also catching kicks at the end of practice were rookie WRs David Grimes, Rich Gunnell and Jeremy Horne, along with RBs Jackie Battle and Kestahn Moore and CB Maurice Leggett.

Defensively,  the No. 1 unit lined up this way: Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey at DE, Derek  Lokey at NT, Mike Vrabel and Tamba  Hali at OLB, Derrick Johnson and Jovan Belcher at ILB, Brandon Carr and Travis Daniels at CB and Eric Berry and Kendrick Lewis at S.

Offensively, the Chiefs worked hard with their quarterbacks and receivers in the red zone, including a session where the wideouts went one-on-one against the defensive backs.

Here are some observations from the afternoon:

• It was again 86 of 87 on the field with the same five guys in the rehab area.
• Rookie CB Arenas had a big day in coverage, knocking down several passes as he worked as both the nickel back and on the left corner. At one point, head coach Todd Haley could be heard telling his defense:  “Don’t let No. 30 make all the plays.”
• The second defense was Wallace Gilberry and Bobby Greenwood at DE, Ron Edwards at NT, Andy Studebaker and Justin Cole at OLB, Demorrio Williams and Corey Mays at ILB, Arenas and Jackie Bates at CB and Donald Washington and Reshard Langford at S.
• Working as the No. 2 offensive line were LT Barry Richardson, LG Kikechuku Ndukwe, C Casey Wiegmann, RG Jon Asamoah and RT Colin Brown.
• The No. 3 offensive line was LT Nick  Landry, LG Darryl Harris, C Andrew Lewis, RG Lemuel Jeanpierre and RT Jermail Porter.
• Working as the No. 1 wedge on kick return were FB Mike Cox, Studebaker, Gilberry and TE Jake O’Connell. Handling the role as the second man back as a possible returner were WR Terrance Copper, RB Kolby Smith and RB Javarris Williams.
• RB Kestahn Moore ran off several nice runs, something that seems to happen at least once a practice with him. Rookie TE Tony Moeaki caught several good passes; on one play he found an open spot in the zone coverage at the middle of the field. It was very reminiscent of hundreds of catches by Tony Gonzalez. He had another catch across the middle that if the action had been live, he may have been decapitated as he was stretched out and his upper body totally exposed.
• Second-year TE Jake O’Connell continues to be his own worst enemy. He’s shown the ability to get open and find separation from the defense. But once he does, it’s a 50-50 proposition on whether he’s going to make the catch or not.
• Offensively, the Chiefs again ran some plays out of the Wildcat formation, with most of those being direct snaps to RB Thomas Jones.