Follow the Chiefs on Twitter! | Photo Gallery - (updated)

A FEW MORE IN THE MIX?

August 1st - 8:15 PM

As stated during the PM observations, three players took some reps at punt returner - WR Bobby Engram, WR Rodney Wright and WR Quinten Lawrence. Five more players joined those list by taking extra reps as return men after practice - CB Maurice Leggett, CB Jackie Bates, RB Dantrell Savage, CB Londen Fryar and WR Taurus Johnson.

PM PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

August 1st - 7:49 PM

Here they are…the best of the best from the PM session.

Offense

• WR Dwayne Bowe made a nice catch on a hook route during a 3rd-and-10 situation. These are catches he’ll need to make when we start the real thing.
• TE Brad Cottam got loose on a scrape outside, produced some solid YAC and made a nice finish with some noisy contact paired with S Bernard Pollard.
• RB Javarris Williams seems like a tough-nosed runner/blocker. He may be fun to watch this pre-season.

Defense

• LB Monty Beisel stuck out his paw and hauled in a one-handed INT.
• S Jarrad Page made a clean break to jump in front of WR Bobby Engram path to the paint for a great INT. Page was selling the pick on the sidelines, but I think OC Chan Gailey might have opted to throw the red challenge flag.
• CB Travis Daniels wasn’t fooled on a slip-screen towards the end of practice, breaking up the pass play behind the line.

PM PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS

August 1st - 4:47 PM

The guys are in shoulder pads/helmets (shells) for the afternoon practice and special teams is the emphasis early today following O/D walk-thrus. Special teams coach Steve Hoffman has the guys running through punt protection. The gunners are working on speed and agility off the snap.

4:59 PM - Previous years called for a helmets-only practice following all full-padded morning session. This afternoon’s shell practice is yet another example of the “new Chiefs.” Coach Haley will likely follow up a full-padded day with helmets-only at some point, but this is a great way to get started on day one.

5:03 PM - Fans are excited to get their first up-close glimpse of Scott Pioli. When Pioli came near the grandstands to shake hands with writer Clark Judge, the quick draw was on as cameras and phones were out snapping up photos of Scott.

5:05 - Speaking of the grandstands…I’ve spotted a few Zach Thomas jerseys (Miami edition) and our first homemade sign of camp, ”#39 B. Carr lockdown corner.”

5:18 - LB Derrick Johnson isn’t working this afternoon, he’s riding a bike and lifting with some of the players being held out today. Johnson began practice this AM with the team, but later went to the sidelines. G Edwin Harrison also left the AM practice session early and is not participating this afternoon.

5:30 - One of my favorite drills is not run every day, but it’s being run now. RBs vs. LBs in pass pro/blitz pickup. Lots of hits. LB Zach Thomas is pretty savvy with this drill.

5:40 - Another new drill for this camp, mainly working with interior DL/NT. Three OL vs. 1 DL/NT. Great practice shedding double teams. Some sturdy men going to war in the trenches. The GM made sure to stop by and take note.

5:44 - FUMBLE. The ENTIRE team is penalized wth a 200-yard run. Accountability is being preached during each session.

5:53 PM - More special teams work, this time practicing punt pro with a rush. Working as return men were WR Bobby Engram, WR Quentin Lawrence and WR Rodney Wright.

6:12 - Team 11-v-11 has begun. I’m going take this in from a bit closer. More coming after practice!

ROOM FOR JACKSON

August 1st - 2:44 PM

Although we have yet to hear any official word from the Chiefs front office, a number of news outlets are reporting that the Chiefs have placed DE Glenn Dorsey, RB Kolby Smith and TE Jake O’Connell on the PUP list. If this is the case, the Chiefs will not be forced to waive any players when first-round pick DE Tyson Jackson agrees to terms.

JOHNSON TALKS HALEY/PIOLI

August 1st - 2:06 PM

RB Larry Johnson ran with passion throughout the AM session, drawing applause from on-lookers for continuing runs 40-50 yards downfield after the whistle. He looks trimmed down, lighter on his feet and, quite frankly, he appears to be having fun.

Johnson talked following the AM session and implied that he is not only confident in the abilities of his new head coach, but that he has bought into the both the system and the offseason moves of Arrowhead’s new leadership as well. Here are some snips of what Johnson had to say.

“The coach (Todd Haley) is behind me and I need to keep coming out here and keep working.”

“I love Todd. He is somebody you can really be impressed with.”

“I like the organization I am in&hellipit is fun to have that camaraderie with everyone.”

“It’s great to have guys on your team that you are impressed with. I remember when I was a rookie watching LB Zach Thomas run up and down the field, it just feels comfortable.”

Read the entire transcription here.

POST-PRACTICE THOUGHTS

August 1st - 11:55 AM

Offensive Linemen To Be Back Soon: One cause for alarm during this morning’s practice session was the lack of active veteran offensive lineman (Waters, Mcintosh and Goff all worked out on the sidelines without pads). Coach Haley quickly distinguished fears of long-term problems during his post-practice press conference, saying that the linemen held out today will likely return to action in the short-term.

Watchful Eyes on Receivers: In the practice blog I observed that it seemed the wideouts had cut down on the amount of drops from previous camps. Even so, Coach Haley indicated that he would like to see fewer dropped balls during his post-practice press conference. This is a position group that Haley previously coached and it is already evident that Haley will hold this position group to a high standard.

AM PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS

August 1st - 8:50 AM

We’re underway here on the practice fields at UWRF. Full pads on the first day! Coach Haley means business.

9:03 AM - Some notables from pre-practice:

• QB Brodie Croyle is in full pads for the first time since injuring his left knee last season
• List of those not practicing: LB Demorrio Williams, G Brian Waters, RB Kolby Smith, T Damion McIntosh, G Mike Goff, DE Dion Gales, DT Ron Edwards, DT Glenn Dorsey
• No Chiefs decals on the helmets

9:10 - TE Jake O’Connell is also out of action this morning

9:18 - Pre-practice has concluded and stretching has begun. The weight loss over the off-season with this squad is quite apparent now that the guys are in full pads.

9:29 - The offense opened up, as usual, by running plays “on air.” Not very noteworthy&hellipexcept for the fact that the linemen were pushing a five-man sled 5-10 yards on each snap (with three coaches riding).

9:41 - A product of the new regime/new defensive scheme&helliplinebackers are split during position drills into inside/outside posts. In past years, linebackers worked out together regardless of their alignment.

9:53 - More new twists to the practice regimine&hellipInside run drills (QBs, RBs, OL, DL, LBs) were conducted in a rapid-fire format. Three seperate groups all in action, one right after the other.

9:54 - While the big boys worked on inside run, the WRs worked with the DBs on downfield blocking/shedding blockers and open field tackling/pursuit.

10:03 - Rookie WR Taurus Johnson had a nice acrobatic grab down the left sideline during one-on-one drills. During the same drills, WR Mark Bradley displayed soft hands on a number of looks, extending his hands and catching the ball away from his body.

10:05 - The pads were popping on 8-vs-8 drills (full squad except DBs and WRs). Even though the guys weren’t going in “full contact,” it was plenty close to the real deal.

10:27 - 7-on-7 drills have come to a close&hellipseems to me like there were less drops than a year ago, that’s encouraging on the first practice of camp. LB Weston Dacus made a pair of nice plays, picking off a pass across the middle and logging a PBU just a few plays following the INT.

10:30 - I can’t stress enough how different these practices are to watch than what fans visiting River Falls are accustomed to.

10:33 - 11-v-11 to close things out and then we’ll go and hear from the head coach.

10:58 - Time to see what Coach Haley thought. more soon!

NOW THE FUN BEGINS

August 1st &ndash 8:10 AM

Weights have been recorded and conditioning tests have been run&hellipall the little things are out of the way. Today, football officially begins for the Chiefs in 2009. Two-a-days are here!

Today’s practice schedule calls for an AM session from 9:00 &ndash 11:00 AM and a PM practice from 4:30 &ndash 6:30 PM.

I’ll be updating you from the practice field throughout the morning and afternoon sessions&hellipso keep checking this blog and kcchiefs.com for full coverage of training camp. The practice fields have been set up&hellipall that’s left are the arrival of the player and coaching staff.

More…