By Brock Ascher

Breakdown: Meetings took up most of the morning during the final Wednesday in River Falls. The Chiefs practiced at 3:45 PM today in shells. On the docket for practice was four-minute offense (basically, the Chiefs have a lead and need to make enough first downs to run out four minutes), a drill that coach calls “Hammer Time.” The team ran 12 running plays and 16 passing plays before Red Zone work and two-minute drill work. T Damion McIntosh was given a scheduled day off and T Barry Richardson stepped in nicely.

Here is the head coach’s analysis of today’s four-minute drill . . .

”(The situation was) 3:58 left, ball on the minus 19-yard line, they (the Chiefs offense) were winning the game, winning by two and the defense has three timeouts. Basically in that scenario, what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to run nine plays. And what the defense has to do is call their timeouts with the two-minute in there. It’s the first time we did it, and we learned something from it.“
   
Plays of the Day: WR Dwayne Bowe showed some separation late in practice with a beautiful out-and-up route that fooled two defenders and ended in a touchdown. QB Brodie Croyle helped matters with a pump fake on the “out” then threw a perfect touch pass down the right sidelines into Bowe’s waiting hands.

During “Hammer Time” Croyle rolled to his right on a bootleg, scanned the defense and threw a bullet to WR Maurice Price. Price caught the ball on the line, then lunged toward the field to stay in-bounds and kill clock. He was successful and was rewarded with a tap on the back of the helmet from Croyle.

Weather Watch: Fog and haze was the order of the morning before the sun came out and chased it away by noon. It was another beautiful day in river falls with the temperature at 82 degrees and the sky clear. Back at Arrowhead the temperature topped out at 86 degrees.

Looking Ahead: T-Minus two days and counting until the Chiefs head back to Kansas City. Tomorrow’s practice schedule is a little different than normal, with the team practicing in full pads at 11:45 AM. Morning and evening meetings bookend the day.

We’re Talkin’ ‘Bout Practice: Every day the coaching staff hands out a spreadsheet detailing daily drills and when they will be performed. The documents are accurate to the minute, color-coded and kept in a Halliburton case which is handcuffed to Coach Edwards at all times. Practices are split into periods (typically 10 in number) of varying lengths. Each period consists of a drill or exercise that the team does for that set amount of time. When time is up, a horn sounds and Coach Edwards yells orders for the next period’s drill. This goes on for the duration of practice, always ending when Coach Edwards blows his whistle and says “We’re up, men.”

Today’s practice goes thusly:
3:30 – Special Teams Stretch
3:34 – Team Stretch
3:53 – Fundamentals
3:57 – Individual (Field goal)
4:09 – Walk-Thru
4:19 – Competition 4-minute offense and defense (”Hammer Time”)
4:29 – Team Run (12 plays)
4:39 – Team Pass (16 plays)
4:51 – Situations (12 plays)
5:01 – Team (12 plays)

Mayoral Honors: Mayor Don Richards of River Falls presented Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez with a plaque honoring him for saving the life of Ken Hunter. Gonzalez performed the Heimlich Maneuver on Hunter after Hunter choked on a piece of steak during a dinner in early July in Huntington Beach, California.

Look Who’s Talking: “This ain’t nothin’. I’ll be back soon.”
- Chiefs T Branden Albert on his injured foot.

Reader Questions: How different is the defense now that defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham is also the linebackers coach? Do the linebackers like this setup?
- Ronnie Stotler (Greene, Iowa)

This is nothing new for Coach Cunningham, he also served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Chiefs in ‘97 – one of the finest defensive seasons in Chiefs annals. He also has been a linebackers coach for the Colts, the Raiders and the Titans. The players find this approach to be beneficial. The whole situation is streamlined for the linebackers, with just one voice on the sidelines.

LB Derrick Johnson’s take on having Gunther as his position coach:

“I didn’t know how we were going to do it at first, but it’s going quite well. You actually get into his mindset on how you play linebacker. I never knew that in three years that I’ve been here… I didn’t know how much he knew about linebackers… My game is going to go to another level. I can’t wait.”

How is T Herb Taylor handling left tackle duties in T Branden Albert’s absence?
- Bud Icees (Hamilton, NJ)

I know your real name is Evan, but I’ll print the name you signed because it humors me so, and we at the Chiefs are not without a sense of humor. T Herb Taylor has done well filling in for T Branden Albert, well enough for Coach Edwards to say “Herbie is doing a good job over at the left tackle position.” Taylor has been defending against DEs Tamba Hali, Turk McBride and Brian Johnston, so he’s been at least getting a good workout. QB Brodie Croyle has had no problems with time in the pocket from Taylor’s side. Of course, this is still the preseason, but Taylor has been solid thus far.

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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