KC Chiefs Returning Home Today

The Kansas City Chiefs will travel back to the land of BBQ and fountains today as they officially break camp in St. Joe.

From everything I’ve heard about how training camp was run in St. Joe, I think the real training camp is about to begin in Kansas City. Because of the lockout and the loss of OTA’s and mini-camps, it seems like Todd Haley wanted to spend the first couple of weeks of camp getting his players together, in shape and on the same page. We know from the past that Haley loves padded practices so I think that the first couple of weeks in camp being fairly mild is telling.

The practices ratcheted up in intensity over the last few days and I expect that trend to continue when the team gets back to Kansas City.

If I were a betting man, I’d say the Chiefs probably still be extremely cautious this Friday when they take on the Baltimore Ravens. I am sure we’ll see a little bit more variety but I am guessing Haley is really targeting the third and fourth preseason games as the time when his starters will see the most action. Usually the fourth preseason game is a one series and done affair for the starters but I could see the Chiefs using their guys a little longer to make up for their light action in the preseason opener.

Haley is taking a different approach than a lot of coaches in the league. While I’m not 100% sold on it, I trust that the head coach knows his players better than anyone. Hopefully the cautious approach will enable the Chiefs to hit the ground running once the season starts. As AA staff writer Jeremy pointed out yesterday, fast starts have been very important for this team over the last decade.