RIVER FALLS WRAP: Day 11

Aug 04, 2008, 3:21:21 PM

By Brock Ascher

Breakdown: The Chiefs got back into the swing of things after a busy end of the week last week and a day off yesterday. The team practiced in full pads at 9:00 AM and will run a 3:45 PM practice in their shells this afternoon.

Looking Ahead: Tomorrow is more of the same as the Chiefs prepare for their preseason matchup with the Chicago Bears on Thursday. The team will have a fully-padded 9:00 AM practice and a 3:45 PM practice in shells tomorrow.

Plays of the Day: QB Brodie Croyle and WR Devard Darling hooked up on a deep route to wow the crowd this morning. Darling used some nifty footwork to streak past the CB covering him while Croyle launched a 40-yard missile that landed perfectly in Darling’s hands.

Newly-reconverted LB Oliver Hoyte turned some heads at the AM practice, as well. From the goal line set, Hoyte attacked from the right hash, shrugged a block and dropped RB Dantrell Savage two yards deep in the backfield. Not bad for his second practice back at his natural LB post after spending the first week of camp at fullback.

Weather Watch: After a spectacular thunderstorm that lit up the wee hours of the morning, the clouds remained to produce a dark Monday. Practice went on beneath an overcast sky with an afternoon high in the low 80s. Back at Arrowhead, conditions were stifling as the mercury topped 99 degrees with a heat index of 105.

Notable Campers: Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and River Falls Mayor Don Richards arrived in camp at 11:00 AM today. They were joined by State Senator Sheila Harsdorf and representatives from Senator Russ Feingold’s office and Congressman Ron Kind’s office. The governor met with Chiefs officials, players and staff at lunch and even had time for an exclusive interview with Josh Looney of kcchiefs.com.

John Bunting, a former Philadelphia Eagles teammate of head coach Herm Edwards, former Chiefs assistant coach and former head coach at the University of North Carolina is also in camp throughout the week and will travel with the squad to Chicago on Thursday.

Look Who’s Talking: “You’re talking about two players who are two first-round draft choices. They’re a little bit different. They’re pretty special as far as picking things up and understanding the game of football. That’s the saving grace for those two guys. Everything I’ve seen from those guys so far is everything we anticipated when we drafted them.”

- Head coach Herm Edwards on why he feels both DT Glenn Dorsey and T Branden Albert will come back successfully from their training camp injuries

Reader Questions: Who will be taking care of the kicking duties this season?
-Aaron Harring - AKA “MacGyver” (Seoul, South Korea)

No doubt Aaron was typing this question while creating some useful device using a rubber hose, a turkey baster, the carburetor from a baby blue 1980 Ford Courier pickup and the moon’s gravitational pull. Keep up the good work, Mac.

As far as the Chiefs specialists go, Thursday’s Chicago game will be the biggest audition to date for Ks Nick Novak and Connor Barth. Both kickers are expected to see duty on Thursday at Soldier Field. Novak, who has previous NFL experience Washington and Arizona, has a very strong leg and he is good at precision kicking on kickoffs (meaning he can actually kick it away from Bears KR Devin Hester, if so inclined). His kicks have a high arch to them and they seem to stay in the air for a long time. This will help the coverage team do its job on kickoffs and will also help the ball clear would-be blockers on field goal attempts.

Barth made 30 of his final 33 collegiate field goal attempts, including a University of North Carolina record 19 straight. He was a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference Honoree to boot (pun intended). It should be an entertaining battle, if nothing else.

Is there someone slotted as a full time FB?
- Petty Officer Second Class Paul Parent (HMCS Protecteur in the Arabian Gulf)

There has been a bit of a battle for the FB position this year, which is what camp is all about. Chris Manderino, and rookie Mike Cox are the frontrunners for the position since Oliver Hoyte moved to linebacker. Manderino spent time with the Bengals before signing a two-year contract with the Chiefs last April.

Cox played for offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and running backs Coach Curtis Modkins at Georgia Tech, so he knows the ins and outs of Coach Gailey’s system better than most. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s “best blocking back” by The Sporting News in 2006.

Keep an eye on how both players play on special teams during the preseason. That will likely be a deciding fact on which player sticks on the 53-man roster.

With S John Lynch available now, would the Chiefs consider bringing him in as a mentor, spy, or informant against the Broncos?
-Michael Borboa (Lodi, California)

This is actually not as crazy as it sounds, and also not without precedent. First, let’s point out that Coach Edwards and Lynch are very close friends. In fact, Lynch is the Godfather of Edwards’ son Marcus.

Now for the precedent. In 2006, the New York Jets signed CB Hank Poteat after the New England Patriots cut him. The media ran with the story, saying the Jets signed Poteat to obtain inside information on the Patriots. A more likely story is new Jets coach (and former New England D-Coordinator) Eric Mangini simply liked and was comfortable with Poteat. Anyway, the Jets had New England’s former defensive coordinator and former CB to glean information from, and were promptly beaten 24-17.

I should also mention that the Broncos would never have released Lynch of they thought the Chiefs would sign him, which isn’t too likely. The Chiefs already have a veteran safety in Jon McGraw. And wouldn’t you know it, he wears the number 47.

Finally, since Coach Edwards and Lynch are good friends, they talk to each other anyway. Who’s to say Lynch doesn’t receive a phone call in late September as Kansas City is readying for Denver?

Questions?: Is there a question about training camp or the Chiefs that you want answered? Chiefs insiders Josh Looney and Brock Ascher will answer fan questions daily in the River Falls Wrap.

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Have a specific question for a specific player? One fan question will be selected daily and featured in the Fans Want To Know portion of Camping With The Chiefs, which airs every evening of training camp on KCChiefs.com.

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