The Morning Fix

As far as players participating in practice, both sides of the ball made excellent plays throughout practice. LB Derrick Johnson read a goal-line shovel pass perfectly and broke it up, while RB Thomas Jones had the play of the morning for the offense. Channeling his inner LaDainian Tomlinson, Jones took a direct snap from center, faked a run towards the line and then when the defense committed, lofted a perfect touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe.

Personnel-wise, Derrick Johnson and Jovan Belcher played together with the first-team defense and rookie guard Jon Asamoah took all his reps at left guard (Brian Waters’ spot).

In the afternoon, the team moved indoors into the air-conditioned practice facility which was incredibly smart because Wednesday afternoon was undoubtedly dangerously hot outside.

CHIEFS HAVE FINAL PRACTICES BEFORE FRIDAY’S EXHIBITION OPENER-examiner.com

”It has been encouraging. It has been productive,” Pioli said today after the conclusion of the morning practice. ”We had such a good off-season and a productive off-season in a lot of ways that it has just kind of continued. The players have practiced hard and worked hard and gotten good work in. There are a lot of things you’re trying to get accomplished and you have a list of things you want to get accomplished, a lot of things you want to improve on. I’ve seen a lot of good work here.”

Which is why Pioli said he had ”a million things” he’s looking for in Friday night’s preseason opener against the Falcons in Atlanta.

Pioli happy with camp-Red Zone

But the Chiefs hope that Crennel, a former Browns head coach who oversaw Super Bowl winning defenses as the Patriots’ coordinator, can make a difference in Kansas City. And Crennel will be watching for any improvement in the holdovers as well as gauge Berry’s adjustment in making the jump from college to the NFL.

“All I can do is try to get these guys to fit where they need to fit,” Crennel told the Kansas City Star. “To be physical and aggressive and have great effort to the ball and hopefully that will pay off in the running game.”

The Chiefs run defense was the second-worst in the league last year, and they also struggled to mount a pass rush.

Chiefs coach Todd Haley told the Star that he’s not sure what to expect after seeing up-and-down performances from the defense in training camp.

“I would say it’s a work in progress,” Haley said. “There are some days when I get really excited and they really want to see how we look, and there are some days when it looks like a little too much like we’ve seen.”

Chiefs, Romeo Crennel Look Forward to First Glimpse of Revamped Defense-NFL Fanhouse

On Eric Berry, he was asked what, specifically, does he see in him that could make him special. “The love of the game. The quickness, speed and toughness. But, like I said, we still got a lot work to do. He’s young but we still have to try to get better.”

On Javier Arenas, he said, “Right now he’s working a lot at the star position and that corner also. He’s working. All these young guys, they’re working hard, willing to work and they’re smart but they’re rookies so we have to put them on the playing field against the other teams and see how they go but for right now we’re very happy with them.”

On Brandon Flowers, he said, “Brandon is our guy. Right now he’s the veteran of the corners really and he’s played well in the past and I don’t see why he shouldn’t play well in the future. He’s working well right now and I think all will jell as the time goes on.”

Chiefs Training Camp: HOFer Emmitt Thomas Excited About Eric Berry, Javier Arenas-Arrowhead Pride

Never miss a chance to get your fix! Follow Arrowhead Addict on Twitter and be sure to like our Facebook page.

Tags: kansas city chiefs