***Chiefs @ Ravens***

Chiefs' Haley not changing approach to preseason
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

ST. JOSEPH | The Chiefs looked unprepared for Friday night’s exhibition
opener compared with their opponents, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The fact
the Chiefs were dominated in a 25-0 defeat was perhaps inevitable given
that they spent the previous two weeks of training camp working more on
conditioning than football.

They may be in for more of the same Friday night when the preseason
schedule continues with a game against the Ravens in Baltimore. Coach
Todd Haley said he won’t alter the approach this week as camp resumes at
Missouri Western.

The Chiefs returned to practice Sunday afternoon.

“I feel really good about the plan,” Haley said. “I said it after the
game, it was the first one and not the last one, and I’m going all the
way to the last one of the season. We’re in training camp, and as I keep
telling the players, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Each
and every day counts for us and for them to getting this team where it
needs to be to start the season.

“I feel good about what we’re doing. We have a plan for this week. We’re
going to have another game Friday at Baltimore. But the plan is again
going to revolve more about us than anything else right now.”

The Chiefs were in full pads Sunday for the entire practice for the
first time at camp. There was some contact but not to the normal
standards for a padded practice at camp.

Haley said he is preparing for the Chiefs for the regular season, which
begins Sept. 11 against Buffalo at Arrowhead Stadium. He indicated the
route he’s taking for the Chiefs is best given the lack of offseason
practice and conditioning sessions because of the lockout.

The Chiefs didn’t practice in pads or hold as many contact drills as
several other NFL teams during the first two weeks of camp. Haley said
he wants all players on equal footing with regard to physical
conditioning before he turns them loose in practice.

“I don’t think we’re out of the woods as far as where we are
physically,” Haley said. “We’ve got a couple of new, new guys on the
roster in addition to some guys that weren’t quite there as last week
wound down. That’s still the No. 1 thing for us and for me as the head
coach is to get this team taking every day possible to physically get
these guys into a position to succeed and hold up for what we hope is a
good, long season.

“This time of year, you’re used to being in pads a little more and
you’re used to doing things a little differently but (this year) it’s a
different set of circumstances. The goal is to be ready for Sept. 11.
That’s all really that I’m focused on, and these other things will take
care of themselves.”

Haley said some of his assistants had been pushing him to do more in
practice. At least one member of the staff, defensive coordinator Romeo
Crennel, said he understood the situation because it’s been such a
strange year for both players and coaches.

“Every team is doing things different,” Crennel said. “Everybody is
trying to figure it out. You do what you feel like is best and you go
from there. That’s what we’re doing. We think we can be ready Sept. 11.”

Haley resisted the urging from his assistants to bring the Chiefs along faster.

“As the head coach, you have to look at the big picture all the time,”
Haley said. “I’ve been an assistant coach and I know how assistant
coaches think … they have their area or their agenda that they have to
worry about first and foremost, but it’s my job to look at the big
picture.

“We’ve got a great, experienced coaching staff. We have great
conversations, but there hasn’t been a time when we’ve left any meeting
or gone to spread the message to the players that we’re not all on the
same page.”

Haley said that after watching the video of the Tampa Bay game, the
situation wasn’t as bad as it looked at first glance. On offense, the
Chiefs had just 137 yards and had trouble blocking for their
quarterbacks.

On defense, the Chiefs missed some tackles. Both are symptoms of when a
team hasn’t adequately prepared, at least from a physical standpoint.

“When you watch a game live, when there’s a jailbreak offensively and
the quarterback is under great duress, you tend to think it’s
everybody,” Haley said. “But it was one guy here, one guy there. It
wasn’t three or four guys all with breakdowns.

“It was the same defensively. Our defense only works if everybody is
doing their job first. We had some instances where one guy got out of
place, and that then made a lot of guys look like maybe they weren’t
doing that they’re supposed to.”

Fatties need whooped into shape so we can actually start focusing on team practice.

The Blitz | A look at the good, the bad and the ugly in the Ravens game


Highlight

The Chiefs’ final possession of the first half was their most impressive
of the preseason, with backup quarterback Tyler Palko leading a
touchdown drive in the 2-minute offense. Palko was calm and precise,
avoiding the panicked play he has displayed so often in practice. He hit
Terrance Copper in the end zone with 12 seconds left in the half, tying
the score at 10-10.

Lowlight

Ravens running back Ray Rice split the Chiefs defense and ran 26 yards
for the game’s first touchdown. Cornerback Javier Arenas overpursued,
missing a tackle after Rice cut to his right, and safety Sabby
Piscitelli had the angle but couldn’t catch Rice.

What we learned

Matt Cassel can still pass the ball. A week after coach Todd Haley put
Cassel’s right arm on a one-game sabbatical, the Chiefs quarterback
completed six of 14 passes for 73 yards. He was imperfect, but after
such a long layoff, that wasn’t entirely unexpected. After more than
three weeks of avoiding contact, Cassel also was reintroduced to being
hit when he was sacked late in the first quarter.

Next question

How will the Chiefs operate their pass offense without Jonathan Baldwin?
Cassel lost one of his receiving options, at least temporarily, when
Baldwin was injured. But Dexter McCluster was solid and proved that his
speed and catching ability could help the Chiefs overcome the loss of
Baldwin.

The hot seat

Jackie Battle got some work during Friday’s contest, but fullback Le’Ron
McClain and McCluster showed why Battle might be the odd man out when
final cuts are made. McClain and McCluster displayed versatility,
catching passes out of the backfield in addition to their rushing
talents. Unless the Chiefs are planning to keep five running backs,
including McCluster, Battle needs to be impressive in the final two
preseason games to earn a roster spot.

Stock watch

•Going up: Palko didn’t display the indecisiveness and panic that he
showed so often during training camp, leading an impressive 80-yard
scoring drive near the end of the first half. Palko had a defender in
his face when he passed on third and 3 from the Ravens’ 4-yard line, but
he hung in the pocket and connected with Copper for the touchdown.

•Going down: Rookie cornerback Jalil Brown, one week after a
solid preseason debut against Tampa Bay, was burned on a deep pass play
in the first half by Lee Evans. The veteran receiver ran past Brown, and
after Evans caught the ball with a wide cushion, Brown finally brought
Evans down after a 43-yard gain.

•Staying the same: Jamaal Charles had four carries, but he has
yet to break a big play. His job as the Chiefs’ top running back is
hardly in question — or shouldn’t be — but it’ll be a relief to some
Chiefs fans once Charles breaks his first big run. He finished with 12
yards, including a long of 4.
| Kent Babb, kbabb@kcstar.com

Except for lack of explosion on offense, I was happy with what I saw from the Chiefs. Defense looked like it could be legit (although the secondary had a few brain farts), but the offense never found a rhythm. Bowe showed great hands a couple times. Houston had some great plays but I saw lack of effort a few times, including the Ray Rice TD run that Arenas overpursued. And best yet, Tyson Jackson actually didn't embarrass himself (other than the two times Joe Flacco almost broke his ankles).

RustShack wrote:

This is probably the most encouraging thing I've seen out of our young line since Willie Roaf retired.

Ngata was on a Stunt, so it makes it easy to use his own momentum on him and wash him out of the play. But Aso is still really good for no more experience than he has.

I liked what i saw out of Houston. He keeps this up and he will be playing alot early.

Really wasn't that bad overall. 3-3 when we pulled our starters.

I was excited from the improvement we saw this game.. And our 2s drove 80 yards against thier 1s.. Idk about u guys but that is exciting! And our 2s only gave up 1 TD to Joe Flacco and thier ones.

I'm ready to see what a healthy Baldwin and the Chiefs actually game planning looks like.