Mini-Camp Surprises

Jun 08, 2008, 2:45:16 PM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

For those fans that used part of their Saturday and attended the Chiefs mini-camp practice session at Arrowhead Stadium there had to be shock and great surprise.

We aren’t talking about all the big holes dug into the ground outside the stadium that are part of the stadium renovation. We also are not talking about all the new names on the roster. Fans have been hearing about the new young faces for months now and knew walking into the building that of the 92 players that were on the field, only 35 had been there the last time the Chiefs took to the playing surface.

What had to be surprising is some of what the Chiefs showed their fans during the 90-minute practice. There were three very noticeable items:

• Bootlegs by the Chiefs quarterbacks.
• Audibles by the Chiefs quarterbacks.
• Man-to-man pass defense by the Chiefs defense.

Let’s start with the bootlegs. The Chiefs defense has had the quarterback boot thrown in their face, especially by the Denver Broncos, for the better part of the last two decades. It started with John Elway and has rolled through to Jay Cutler, and it was especially popular in those seasons with Jake Plummer at quarterback.

One reason the Chiefs struggled with the bootleg is because they never saw it during practice. Under Marty Schottenheimer, Gunther Cunningham and Dick Vermeil, plays were not often designed for quarterback movement. Oh, the scout team would run bootlegs in the week of the Denver game especially, but seldom was it shown in practice.

There’s one thing about defensive players that never changes: the more they see a particular play, the more they understand how to stop the same play. Based on that, the Chiefs defense should be the best in the league playing against the boot in 2008. Since the first OTA practice session, new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has had his quarterbacks on the move. It’s something both Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen seem comfortable doing. Same for the left-handed David Greene. Given the Chiefs rebuilding on the offensive line, it only makes sense to give the scheme some options that would help the blockers.

Fans may have noticed something else about the offense during the practice: the quarterbacks were actually calling audibles. They would come to the line of scrimmage, start the snap count and then pull back and either verbally or visually announce a change in the play.

This is not a new concept in offensive football, but it’s not something the Chiefs quarterback has been able to do over the previous seven seasons. Under the old Vermeil-Saunders-Solari offense, there was no established audible system. There were times when the offense might go to the line with two plays and the quarterback would pick one, but there was no planned way for the offense to get out of a bad play.

That’s changed now. The Chiefs will have an audible system.

Defensively during the Saturday afternoon workout, fans got to see the new young defensive backs on the roster play some man-to-man pass coverage. The Chiefs have not done much man-to-man over the last two years; they’ve been predominately in zone pass coverage. Why? A lack of cornerbacks who combined the coverage skills and knowledge with the foot speed and quickness necessary to play the defense.

But youngsters Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr and Maurice Leggett are growing in confidence and understanding of the Chiefs defense and in the last few practices, they have played man-to-man coverage. If the young cornerbacks continue to improve, Cunningham will have many more options when it comes to calling his defenses.

On those three items alone, it has to be a surprising Saturday for Chiefs fans.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.