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PROTECTING THE FOOTBALL
August 24th – 6:29 PM

Eight fumbles (four lost) in two games won’t cut it for head coach Todd Haley. The Chiefs head man has preached ball control to all offensive positions throughout camp, but today’s two practice periods seemed to have an even bigger emphasis on protecting the football tied to them.


“We do a lot of emphasizing in that area,” Haley said of football protection. “That’s why we have the gauntlet out here and you see us go through stiff-arm drills, all the different things that help us protect the football.

“In the game, two of our fumbles happened with guys having the ball in the wrong hand,” Haley continued. ”That’s a little thing that becomes a big thing. We’re coaching it all the time; when we see it we’ve got to talk about it and if we miss it on the field we’ve got to correct it on tape. That’s a great example. Two fumbles in that game would not have happened in my opinion if the all carriers were carrying the ball in the correct arm.“

One of those ball carriers on Friday night was second-year RB Jamaal Charles. The speedster, a former Big XII sprinter at Texas, saw a chance to break a big play and coughed up the football when he fumbled while trying to make a cut in the first quarter vs. the Vikings.

“I was just trying to make a big play,” Charles said of his first quarter fumble. “All of a sudden my feet got out from under me. I was just going too fast and I tripped and fell and the ball came out.“

But all was not lost for Charles on the night, as what he did after his fumbled impressed his head coach. Haley marched Charles back onto the field the very next series and handed him the football to see how he would respond. It was an obvious test of Charles’ mental make-up since RB Larry Johnson re-entered the game on the next play. To Haley, Charles passed the exam.

“The thing I’ll say about Jamaal, after a very critical turnover which we cannot have, I put him right back in the game the very next play and handed the ball to him to see where he was at mentally,” Haley explained. “I would say from that point on Jamaal did some good things: he caught a kickoff, he took it up in there like he was trying to run it, he put his head down on the big third down he caught and took it up the sideline. So, there were some positives.”

PM PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS
August 24th – 6:00 PM

The Chiefs just wrapped up the second of their two Monday practices. Field goal and kickoff coverage was a special teams emphasis while teams situational periods saw a blitz segment and a competitive two-minute drill.

Observations of the afternoon practice include…

• RB Kolby Smith and LB Zach Thomas were held out
• RB Larry Johnson was also held out of the afternoon session. It is unclear if he was receiving an afternoon of rest or if he is a little banged up after taking a hit while reaching for a goal line during team period today. This is the first practice of camp that Johnson has missed.
• Neither of the Chiefs two new faces, Gs Andy Alleman or Ikechuku Ndukwe, were at practice this afternoon, meaning the Chiefs had just 78 players in pads or on the bikes.
• G Mike Goff worked on snapping during 7-on-7 work. We’ve seen G Brian Waters take reps at center during this drill over camp as well, but neither player has received time at center during 11-v-11 team periods this camp. This drill takes place during OL/DL one-on-one work, so it could be a way to rest veteran players.
• WR Mark Bradley had a nice catch deep down the left sideline while covered well by CB Ricardo Colclough. Rookie TE Tom Crabtree also made a nice TD grab on a jump ball during red zone work.
• K Ryan Succop was a perfect 4-of-4 on field goal attempts, working mainly from shorter distances.

CHIEFS COMPLETE TRADE TRANSACTIONS
August 24th – 1:21 PM

Just 21 minutes after the Chiefs announced a trade with the Dolphins to acquire Gs Andy Alleman and Ikechuku Ndukwe, the club announced the release of G/C Brian De La Puente to complete the transaction. LB Vince Redd was released earlier in the day.

CHIEFS BOLSTER O-LINE WITH TRADE
August 24th – 1:00 PM

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley was not pleased with the overall play of his offensive line on Friday night against the Vikings. QBs Matt Cassel and Brodie Croyle faced heavy pressure throughout the evening and the Chiefs were blanked in short-yardage rushing situations inside the one-yard line on two of the last four plays of the game.

“I think the offensive line in general I was a little let down about,” Haley said today. “If there is a game you are going to get up for, it’s against (Minnesota). That’s a good defense and specifically a really good defensive front seven. I think that their linebackers are excellent too.

“I just expected our guys to get up a little more and kind of take the challenge,” Haley continued. “Just in general I was probably let down that we didn’t win the physical side of that matchup, especially early.”

This afternoon, Kansas City announced a two-player trade with Miami that bolsters the Chiefs offensive line. Acquired for an undisclosed 2010 draft pick were Gs Andy Alleman and Ikechuku Ndukwe. Both players have been starters at some point during their time with the Dolphins.

It will be interesting to see how this acquisition shapes the Chiefs offensive line rotation going forward. Both players possess the background and credentials to eventually become starters. Whether they are thrust into the starting lineup at some point or not remains to be seen, but, at a minimum, the pair will push Kansas City’s current line core and create positional competition. The Chiefs are listing Alleman as a guard/center. Will his presence create any position shifts along the front?

“We’ve said from the start that we will do anything and everything to make the team better,” Haley said today. “If that means adding somebody on the day before the season starts or today, tomorrow, in a week, we’ll do it. We’re not disrespecting anybody, we’re just keeping our word that we will do everything that we can to improve the team. If there is anybody out there that makes us better at any position we’ll do it.

The Chiefs offensive line suddenly becomes a group to watch throughout the rest of this preseason, across the board.

Kansas City will also need to release another player at some point today assuming that both players have passed their physicals. No announcement has been made on any other transactions, but the Chiefs released LB Vince Redd this morning.

AM PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS
August 24th – 10:57 AM

The Chiefs were officially back on the field in Kansas City this morning and head coach Todd Haley made sure the team understood that practice was still in “training camp mode” and that “the season is approaching fast.“

Haley began the day preaching an up-temp training camp. The day ended with the most excitement of practice as the team worked on a series of goal line plays at full speed/contact. After being stalemated on four goal line plays at the end of the Vikings game, the coaching staff decided to make these plays a situational emphasis.

The highlight of practice game on a goal line play where RB Larry Johnson went up-and-over a pile of defenders to stretch the ball across the goal line. Johnson got so high that he was almost up-ended while crossing the pane. The football came loose on the play and the defense lobbied for a fumble, while the offense claimed touchdown. This one would definitely have to go to the booth for review.

Other observations today…

• Held out were RB Kolby Smith and LB Zach Thomas
• QB Tyler Thigpen practiced in full
• DE Tyson Jackson worked with the first-team defense at defensive end
• T Barry Richardson continued to take first-team reps at right tackle
• No Arrowheads on the helmets - removed once again after the Vikes game
• Bowe was sporting a “new do.” That or he just needs to get his hair re-braided
• Haley kept a watchful eye on the nose tackles during inside run drills, commenting on each player after the play, both positive and constructive
• CB Maurice Leggett did double-duty on the punt team, taking reps at return man and running gunner on the coverage unit
• Leggett also was in the right place at the right time in 11-v-11 work, picking off a deflected pass
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CHIEFS MAKE TRANSACTION
August 24th – 9:01 AM

The Chiefs just announced that the club has waived LB Vince Redd. Redd was originally claimed off waivers from New England on August 4th and had been posting an outside linebacker for the team.

The roster moves leaves a spot open on the Chiefs 80-man roster, which will be cut down to 75 players on September 1st. No announcement has been made of any to signings to date.

FINDING 53
August 24th – 6:15 AM

Training camp changes venues today from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to the Kansas City Chiefs training facility. A change of venue, however, doesn’t change the attitude and intensity of camp. If anything, the stakes are getting higher each and every day as the clock ticks towards the end of the preseason. The club is just six days away from trimming its roster to 75 players and just 11 days away from choosing the first edition of its 2009 53-man roster.

“I think you hear, ‘break camp’ and it’s like the last day of school where you throw the papers out the bus window,” head coach Todd Haley said of concluding the Wisconsin portion of camp. “I think we’re all stressing it to them that we’re still in training camp.”

What training camp boils down to is finding the best 53 men to fill out an Opening Day roster and go forward into the regular season with that core. Finding the perfect fit of 53 is easier said than done and is in no way locked down to a specific, pre-determined number of players at each position…particularly with a team that has as many spots up for grabs as Kansas City does.

Have you pulled out your pens and pads and tried to handicap the Chiefs final 53 yet? Grab a depth chart and give it a try, it won’t be easy. Below is a chart to help you handicap based on the number of players kept at each position on the Opening Day rosters of Kansas City, Arizona (Todd Haley) and New England (Scott Pioli) over the past two seasons. Good luck.

“SCOUTING” THE SEAHAWKS
August 23rd – 6:19 PM

Watching a football double-header on the first free night back from Chiefs training camp in Wisconsin. Aye! That was the lay of the land for me on Saturday night though, Steelers vs. Redskins and Seahawks vs. Broncos on the NFL Network.

Shameful or not, the broadcast gave me a chance to “scout” the Chiefs next opponent (and see Broncos QB Kyle Orton attempt a left-handed pass…LHP = INT). I use the term “scout” loosely because 1) I’m not an NFL scout and 2) I was watching the game while at a fantasy football draft with a bunch of my old college teammates.

***side note alert*** Fantasy football, there’s a story in itself. I’ve been barred from owning any Chiefs players ever since a suspect waiver wire pickup that resulted in RB Kolby Smith bust out 150 rushing yards and two TDs vs. the Raiders in 2007. Stay tuned to kcchiefs.com through the coming weeks as we’ll have some fantasy football coverage/discussions.

Anyway, in between homemade cheese-dip scoops, here are some things I observed about the Seahawks…

1) QB Matt Hasselbeck already seems to have a nice connection with off-season addition WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The two hooked up five times, with one connection for a TD.

2) The Seahawks defense had trouble keeping defenders off their quarterback, particularly from pressure of the edge. Of course, that could also be due in part to the absence of starting left tackle Walter Jones.

3) On the other side of things, Seattle’s primary defenders didn’t get much pressure on Denver QB Kyle Orton, allowing Orton to sit, observe and let his routes develop.

4) The Seahawks have employed new zone schemes in their rushing game, hoping to improve upon a very disappointing season running the football a year ago.

5) Rookie DE Nick Reed was a head turner for the Hawks. The seventh-round pick from Oregon showed a high-motor, blocking a punt and logging two QB takedowns (1.5 sacks). I have no idea where Reed fits into Seattle’s long-term plans, but he was certainly fun to watch last night.

Oh, by the way, that cheese dip was really, really good.

PAGE RUNNING THE ALLY

August 23rd – 2:15 PM

When Chiefs fans talk safeties, S Jarrad Page is typically viewed as the “cover guy,” while S Bernard Pollard fills the perceived role of a “big hitter,” running the ally to defend the run. Page has made a name for himself over his first three NFL campaigns by making late-game INTs, particularly in the end zone against the Raiders.

There was the time that Page picked off Oakland QB Aaron Brooks in the end zone with 32 seconds left to preserve a 17-13 Arrowhead victory (11/19/06) and there was the time Page intercepted two of Raiders QB Andrew Walter’s passes in the end zone at Oakland (12/23/06). Oh yeah, and then there was the time that Page intercepted  intercepted a QB Daunte Culpepper pass with 46 seconds remaining to seal a 12-10 victory at Oakland (10/21/07). Don’t you just love beating the Raiders?

Through two preseason games, however, Page is making a name for himself with his work defending the run. Page has been a part of two impressive defensive stops over the chiefs first two preseason contests.

On Friday he may have turned in the Chiefs biggest defensive highlight with a fourth-and-one stop of All-Pro RB Adrian Peterson for a one-yard loss. Page’s big fill from the secondary gave the Chiefs the football in Minnesota territory, which resulted in a 32-yard K Ryan Succop field goal. Just a week prior, Page stayed home, un-fooled by a Texans reverse play, and filled the ally to allow LB Tamba Hali to make a big play behind the line.

One of the true finds in the 2006 draft, it appears that Page’s game is becoming whole.
Over three seasons, the Chiefs have gotten 34 starts and five INTs (of 11 career) inside the five-yard line from the former seventh-round draft pick. Now, it appears Page wants to be part of stopping the run behind the line of scrimmage as well. Not too shabby for a guy who saw 227 players drafted ahead of him in 2006.

ANSWERING THE BELL
August 23rd – 7:57 AM

Hardly a “day off” at Arrowhead yesterday as the Chiefs coaching staff spent the afternoon breaking down film from Friday night’s game at Minnesota. Team buses pulled into the Arrowhead parking lot well into the heat of the night following a midnight flight home from Minneapolis. Camp has officially broken from River Falls, but the work to build the franchise never ceases. Such is life in the NFL.

The training staff treated any and all nicked players immediately upon the busses landing at Arrowhead and worked through the waking hours of Saturday AM. The med teams were back at Arrowhead by mid-morning on Saturday to continue preparing anyone with bumps and bruises for the week ahead.

Today, the entire team returns to duty, as players will get in a workout and review Vikings game film with the coaching staff. The week ahead has the Chiefs back on the practice fields for a sets of two-a-days on Monday and Wednesday, with single practices scattered between on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by a Seattle-prep walk-thru on Friday.

The club may be at its permanent location, but it’s another week of camp for the Chiefs as they prepare to host Seattle at Arrowhead on Saturday night.