After completing the first slate of two-a-days on Saturday, strength training was kept off of the morning schedule in order to give the team more time to prepare for Sunday’s mid-afternoon practice. Saturday’s two-practice day was the first major test of camp, but Sunday wasn’t any pushover either. Sunday’s full-padded practice lasted nearly three hours and was filled with plenty of intensity.
Practice Inactives
OLB 
Waters has yet to make on the field for the Chiefs this training camp due to injury. Walters had been a full participant in the first three sessions of camp, but worked out on a bike Sunday afternoon.
DT/DE
More on the Nickel
Saturday’s rookie triangle of
“Its fun and It’s a unique opportunity, I think,” Arenas said of the three rookies repping together. “(Eric and Kendrick) know a lot about what they are doing and I’m pretty sure that it’s easier for them when I can communicate as well.”
The nickel sets were the first of camp and there was plenty of rotation throughout the day, but three rookies working in the defensive backfield at the same time was definitely noteworthy. Haley initially held off working on sub-packages to focus solely on base groupings during the first few of practices this training camp.
“Chiefs Will”
If you make the trip to training camp, two words are commonplace on campus: “Chiefs Will.”
Those two words are printed, in Chiefs Font, on the back of t-shirts worn by the coaches and players (pictured, upper right). At each practice session, more than one coach is typically wearing a shirt with the mantra printed across the back, and many of the players walk around campus with the shirts on as well.
So, what’s the back-story on these two words becoming a part of this year’s camp?
“I like to have something in camp to keep your focus on and I will keep it between myself and the team, really in-depth,” Haley explained. “Will is an interesting word in football and it obviously has a double meaning, but I will leave it at that. I like the way it sounds for some reason.”
Touching the Fence
We witnessed our first punishment run on Sunday afternoon in St. Joseph. After allowing a coverage sack to open up team Red Zone period, Haley sent the entire offense running to the far fence and back. Haley wanted to get the point across that quarterbacks needed to throw the ball away in that situation, rather than take a sack.
As the offense took off, some fans applauded, rallying behind Haley’s demand for perfection. Running to the fence after mental mistakes was commonplace during Haley’s first training camp as a head coach in 2009, but this was the first time that the run has happened in St. Joseph.
Competitive Inside Run Period
During each practice session, 9-on-7 (inside run) drills are becoming a must-watch. Today, there were several highlights...
- TE
Leonard Pope has shown some nice leverage in blocking angles on the outside edge. In back-to-back practices he’s been able to hook his opponent and enable a runner to spring a nice run. - OLB
Mike Vrabel made a very nice physical play off the edge, defeating a block to notch a tackle for loss. - Charlie Weis didn’t like something he saw and got after the offense midway through the drill. On the very next snap, RB
Thomas Jones churned out a beautiful read and sprinted into the end zone to draw some big applause from Chiefs fans. Jones originally tried to run through the A-Gap, but re-adjusted and cut toward the B/C-Gap for daylight. - Rookie OLB
Justin Cole appeared to have someone step on his foot or ankle. The undrafted player out of San Jose State hobbled around for a few minutes and took a brief break, but eventually returned to action.
Washington Getting Looks at Gunner
There are a number of players competing for opportunities to play gunner on the punt unit this preseason, but one in particular seems to be getting a lot of attention. Second-year DB
In a crowded defensive backfield, many of the Chiefs reserve defensive backs will be counted on to play special teams. Over the last two days, WR
Play of the Day
During team blitz period the first-team offense looked in mid-season form, for one play at least. After a perfect blitz pick-up, QB
The play appeared flawless, perfectly executed in all three phases of the play – the blitz pickup, the pass and the catch. Chambers had a defender on his hip when he made the grab.
Just a few plays prior, Cassel had connected with Chambers on a nearly identical play. Both plays received loud ovations from the crowd, but most of the crowd missed a small detail of the first attempt. On the first time around, OLB Mike Vrabel twisted to the inside (near the A-Gap) on a stunt for would have definitely been a sack. The defense made sure to plea its case after Chambers’ grab.
Chambers also logged several other nice catches on the day, including an impressive Red Zone TD to cap off a big practice.
Pop of the Day
On the closing play of team Red Zone, Javier Arenas laid a big hit on fellow rookie
Following the play, however, there wasn’t much celebrating for Arenas.
“They said that it would have been a late hit, so I have to make a better decision,” Arenas said. “But, you know, I’m just trying to compete and contribute out there.”
Two practices are on schedule for Monday – 8:50 AM and 4:30 PM
