***Official Training Camp***

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3. http://chiefsblog.kansascity.com/
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RustShack wrote:

I hope Carr doesn't get put on the block. He is starting to become better than Flowers, but I don't think Flowers is done getting better either.

I really like Carr to, but damn what a crowd at CB they have now. Flowers, Carr, Arenas, Brown, Travis Daniels.

It wouldn't surprise me.. The Pats would let go of guys like Law, Samual, Hobbs, and just kept churning out more and more.

RustShack wrote:

It wouldn't surprise me.. The Pats would let go of guys like Law, Samual, Hobbs, and just kept churning out more and more.

Very True! I guess we will get a sense of what their going to do this season with the extensions I just hope that all 4 are in Piolis Plans.

I think they are all young enough they should get an extension here.

Chiefs’ remodeled offense could be an explosive unit
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

S T. JOSEPH | The process has been slow and sometimes painful, but the Chiefs are finally ready to show their burgeoning collection of offensive skill players to the rest of the football world.

“This is a team that can compete and contend in terms of that division,” said former Chiefs quarterback Rich Gannon, who sees the Chiefs every year as a CBS analyst. “I like what they’re doing with those guys. There’s a method to their madness.”

At the very least, it’s difficult to fault their effort. The Chiefs attacked the issue again this year, drafting one wide receiver, Jonathan Baldwin, with their first-round pick and signing another, Steve Breaston, in free agency.

The Chiefs added Tony Moeaki, Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster last year to a group that already included Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe and Matt Cassel. Suddenly, what was a horrid offensive group as recently as 2009 has the potential to be one of the NFL’s most explosive teams.

The Chiefs, with just two days of training camp practices behind them, are trying to downplay the expectations.

“We brought some guys in that can make plays,” Jones said. “The new guys, they just have to find their niche and fit into the offense. I think they’ll fit in perfectly. You can never have too many good players.

“On paper, everything looks great. You have to do it on the field. I’m not one of those guys that looks at names. I’ve played with guys that I never heard of before that stepped up and made plays.”

But this is what the Chiefs have been trying to build ever since general manager Scott Pioli and coach Todd Haley arrived in early 2009. They invested significant resources into upgrading what was one of the league’s worst groups of skill players.

The result is a group that could eventually become the best in Chiefs history. Bowe at wide receiver and Charles at running back last year had seasons that were among the best ever at their respective positions for the Chiefs. Moeaki caught 47 passes last year as a rookie, 14 better than future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez caught as a rookie in 1997.

Throw in some other strong if not spectacular parts and these Chiefs could rival high-scoring Chiefs teams from 1966 and 2003. The 1966 team was one of the highest-scoring clubs in team history, accomplishing that in 14 games. Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson and wide receiver Otis Taylor were the best players at their positions ever to play for the Chiefs.

The 2003 team had Gonzalez and running back Priest Holmes, but the strength of that team was its offensive line.

“Is this the best group the Chiefs have ever had?” Dawson said, repeating a question posed to him. “That’s a good question. I would take my group. But I’m prejudiced.

“The eras are different so it’s hard to compare. The rules have changed, a lot of things have changed since my era. But we never had anybody with the speed of Jamaal Charles. This guy is an all-the-way guy. He gets in that open field and he’s almost impossible to catch.

“They had one receiver last year. I know they brought some people in, so they’re addressing the problem but the jury is still out on them. And (Moeaki) had a nice rookie season. Very encouraging and he should be better this year.”

The Chiefs showed considerable offensive progress last year. They weren’t content to stop there, adding the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Baldwin to play opposite Bowe.

“He’s a big, physical specimen,” said Cassel, who threw to Baldwin in some informal off-season workouts. “You’ve probably seen the highlights like I have of him jumping up and getting the ball. He does a good job of protecting the ball with his body as well.

“The big challenge for him like all the rookies this year is getting caught up to speed on the terminology and the mental aspect of the game just because you don’t have those (off-season practices) and mini-camps we normally would.”

Breaston, who had a 77-catch, 1,006-yard season playing for Haley with Arizona in 2008 and is still only 27, gives the Chiefs a fast wide receiver, something they lacked last year.

“It was definitely something we wanted to try to get done if possible,” Haley said. “I wouldn’t say it was a mandatory deal for us. When you have a competent player for you that can run and stretch the field when needed, it helps everybody else, it helps your running game.”

The Chiefs are counting on more development from almost every one of their skill players. Jones, at 31, is the oldest and the only one over 30. Baldwin and McCluster are trying to establish themselves while Moeaki has played only one season.

“It’s very much a young group,” Gannon said. “Moeaki and McCluster are still learning. The thing that will hurt those guys is you see a lot of improvement from year one to year two in a lot of young players.

“They’ve not had the benefit of working in the off-season with their coaches. Even Dwayne Bowe is still young, still raw, still developing. He’s the kind of guy you need to stay on and continue to challenge.

“Are the Chiefs as explosive and dynamic as some other offenses? Maybe not yet. They still have some work to do.”

Another potential sign of trouble could be the offensive line, which struggled at times last season to handle bigger, more physical opponents.

The Chiefs also changed offensive coordinators. Charlie Weis left for the University of Florida and offensive line coach Bill Muir took over.

But Haley might call the plays. That could be a setback for Cassel, who struggled in 2009 when Haley served as coordinator and offensive play-caller.

“The only struggle is that from a quarterback’s perspective, you worry if you have enough time with the play-caller,” Gannon said. “Is Todd going to be able to be in those morning meetings with the quarterbacks during the week or is he going to have some other things to do that he has to take care of?

“Head coaches that call the plays generally don’t spend enough time with their quarterback. Matt Cassel is still learning, too, so you don’t want to do anything that could hurt his development. This is something that could possibly do that.”

Man I hope Haley does a better job of calling plays then he did his first year!! I think losing Weis might be a bigger loss than some people think.

No Haley will do just fine. Its what the guy knows. Besides I bet Muir calls the running plays and Haley the pass. Thats what usually happens in these situations.

I am with you a little there Chief. a little concerned, but there are def more weapons now than back then.

chiefbravebull wrote:

No Haley will do just fine. Its what the guy knows. Besides I bet Muir calls the running plays and Haley the pass. Thats what usually happens in these situations.

Its not as easy as that. determining when to run and when to pass is part of the equation too. Haley would like to throw it all damn day. That being said I'm not worried just because of the weapons the O has now.

Big Chief wrote:

Man I hope Haley does a better job of calling plays then he did his first year!! I think losing Weis might be a bigger loss than some people think.

Well we don't know who the bad play caller was, since Weis did the majority of it. The clashing was because Haley wanted to be aggressive and Weis didn't. We have the pieces to have a very aggressive offense this year. I think we are better without Weis, and that is only because of Zorn. Without Zorn we would be missing Weis big time. Muir knows the offense just as well as Weis and Haley, so we aren't going to miss a beat there.

Plus Muir is used to the puppet role. He did pretty well in the same exact situation under Grudon.

@bobfescoeBob Fescoe
Harris destroying toribio in one on ones #chiefs

ILB with next to DJ will be interesting. Belcher really isn't bad at all, but I think Micah Johnson and Siler can both be better. If our coaching staff can click with Siler hes an immediate upgrade. MJ would have went decently high in the draft but he ran a slow 40 and also has had knee problems. He ran into another knee problem last year thats why we were able to snatch him up. If he can stay healthy he would be a very good LB for us... hes 10 pounds heavier than Siler, and Siler is 10 pounds heavier than Belcher. They might try sneaking Johnson on the PS again this year though I bet.. but if they do I wouldn't be surprised if he gets signed away just like Lilja did, and how we stole Gillberry from the Giants. Actually we stole MJ from the Giants too I believe.

I think the Giants released Gilberry

I'm pretty sure they didn't. But I could be worng.

not important. what is important is that the undrafted guy is better than the guy we drafted 3rd. and the guy we drafted this year is going to be better than him too. IMO Pioli has had the worst draft in Chiefs history and the best in history back to back. This years is going to be 1 of the best too if Baldwin is motivated and Houston lays off the pot. Good thing the Chiefs will have to up their payroll in 2013 or all these guys would be gone soon.

I'm actually pretty sure Jackson is going to be really good this year.

I started off the day by watching the QB's during drills and I've gotta say Matt Cassel looked amazing. Every pass I saw him throw was right on the money, and he presented himself professionally on the field. You can tell Stanzi is young and needs to learn a lot, but his arm seems really accurate.

I moved around the camp trying to get a good watch of everyone doing their individual drills when I finally made it over to the WR's. They are going to need some work.

Bowe did look like a man upon boys during WR drills. HIs route running seemed crisp, and his confidence was worn on his sleeve, although he still had some bonehead drops.

Baldwin was taken special attention to by the assistant coaches and Haley. They were all giving him 1 on 1 time instructing him how to plant the foot properly on a comeback hitch among other things. You can really tell he's going to be the guy they want up to speed asap.

Jerheme Urban actually looked really good! With soft hands, he caught every ball thrown his way that I saw. Wearing 83 and being white had me thinking Wes Welker, but yeah... we'll see lol.

In one drill, coach Richie Anderson had the WR's start over everytime they dropped a pass. Urban was first with the easy catch everytime, then Bowe who was mostly consistant, then Baldwin, then Josue Paul and Chandler Williams whom both seemed to drop every pass thier way. Very unimpressed with those two guys, and felt sorry for the WR's who were behind them in line during drills because we never got to see much of them due to receivers dropping balls.

At one point Haley came over to show some route running techniques, and when the WR's weren't getting it, he got upset and left. haha.

JoshLooney Josh Looney



50 yard play action Cassel to Baldwin on opening play of team. Baldwin bodied up on Arenas in air

Dexter McCluster went vertical for a fully-extended first down catch in front of rookie Demond WashingtonThus far, McCluster has spent the majority of his time working with the running backs.

I hope to see alot of that from Cassell to Baldwin this year. I like it

The third day of practice in the Kansas City Chiefs training camp is in the books. It was another hot and humid day at Missouri Western State University as the Chiefs took the field for a pair of practice sessions today. The first one, per the new rules, was a walk-through and the second one was more of a regular practice.

The defensive and offensive linemen got to put shoulder pads on today but other than them the rest of the guys were just in helmets. If Todd Haley wanted to, he could have put them in full pads today.

The most entertaining part of practice is usually the competitive period at the end which is basically 11-on-11. Today, though, I think the best part was the linemen going at it.

Here's how it worked: one defensive lineman (notable NT Anthony Toribio and NT Jerrell Powe) would line up against three offensive linemen. The ball is snapped and each side tries to bury the other. Toribio and Powe seemed to hold their own at times on the defensive side and I noticed rookie C Rodney Hudson driving some of the defensive linemen. It didn't hurt that this drill happened right in front of where the media was standing.

It looked like there would be a fight on nearly every play because it was so intense but, alas, we are fight-free through three days of camp.

We heard from a number of players and coaches, including Bill Muir and Jim Zorn so look for stories on those guys coming soon.

Onto the practice notes....



-TE Tony Moeaki and FB Tervaris Johnson were in the rehab zone, as they have been throughout camp.

-C Casey Wiegmann made an appearance on the field today. No, not practicing because he can't do that until Aug. 4 but he was watching the offensive linemen practice. He walked onto the field with GM Scott Pioli, shook hands and gave a quick hug to Romeo Crennel then starting watching the big uglies work out.

-Romeo Crennel's interaction with the defensive linemen is really entertaining. "Protect those knees! Get down and protect them!" He's yelling encouragement for about 10 consecutive minutes and just doesn't stop.

-Your punt returners today were CB Javier Arenas, WR/RB Dexter McCluster and WR Jerheme Urban.

-K Ryan Succop looked solid with several kicks under 50 yards. He was kicking them through the uprights and into a crowd of kids who were playing the ultimate game of 500 trying to catch the ball.

-I noticed a few nice catches from McCluster coming out of the backfield. QB Matt Cassel hit him on a deep pass down the right side of the field. There wasn't any coverage on the play but McCluster caught it over his shoulder about 35 yards down the field. He had another one from Cassel in traffic across the middle that required some concentration. His best, though, came on a pass from QB Ricky Stanzi down the left sideline. McCluster had a defensive back under and over the top of him and leapt in the air to haul in the pass near the sideline.

Kelly Gregg is the new Mike Vrabel. Or at least it seems that way from the outset. When Mike Vrabel first arrived in Kansas City, he was not only coming over to fill the role of outside linebacker, but also that of playoff-tested defensive veteran here to mentor the younger players. As Vrabel has moved on, now Gregg has moved in to help shepherd the young guys along the defensive line, including sixth round choice Jerrell Powe.

“Oh yeah, I heard from the Jets, but this is the perfect opportunity,” Gregg told Scout.com in an interview. “It’s an hour-flight from my house in Oklahoma and this is an up-and-coming team. I’ll be working with a good rookie in Jerrell Powe and he looks like he’s going to be a player.”

The Chiefs are definitely glad to hear Gregg’s excitement, given the belief that Powe could really be a late-round find in the middle. Early reports from training camp are that Powe has a long way to go in his preparation and conditioning, but there’s no denying his instincts and raw ability.

If anyone is going to be able to get the most out of Powe, it will be the team-first, highly conditioned atmosphere of Todd Haley combined with the veteran presence of Gregg utilizing Romeo Crennel’s schemes. It’s a perfect fit for the Chiefs rookie and it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see Powe learning rather quickly as long as he can get in game shape.