Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp Report: Day 4

Jul 28, 2013; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Junior Hemingway (88) catches a pass while defended by cornerback Jalil Brown (30) during training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs completed day four of training camp yesterday and our camp correspondents were on the scene to bring you an inside look at practice. Enjoy. -PA

Season Ticket Holder Day was NOT cancelled by the rain in St. Joseph this morning! Pancake & sausage breakfast compliments of Clark Hunt, who was there shaking hands, kissing babies and thanking us for being so loyal. I even got a pass to the VIP tent! It rained for the first 30-45 minutes, stopped and then poured the last 30 minutes.

The tackling to the ground that Reid said would happen was delivered in full today. There were pads popping, breath was held when Charles was swarmed under and the intensity level increased!

Continue to pester Paddy for the hilarious picture of Bowe catching some “balls” while McCluster keeps an eye on his “technique.”

It appeared that only Jeff Allen, Braden Wilson and rookie Bronson were out of practice today.

Practice ran well beyond the announced 2.5 hours even though it was pouring but the after-practice jugs & individuals were skipped. Very interesting drills with many new ones. There 1 on 1’s, there was a DL vs OL 5 on 5 with a big ugly “posing” as a RB! There was a drill with two QB’s throwing to 5 WR’s or 3 WR & 2 RB against 6 DB’s while the other two QB’s ran run plays with the OL & short passes to the RB’s & TE’s against the LB’s. Players rotating every play and then the two QB’s switched drills. The LB’s pass rushed the QB’s with only a RB providing protection. No loud music was only played during the 11 on 11′s. Pederson was showing some creativity with a formation with Moeaki and Fasano lined up out wide with the WR’s down tight on the line. Pederson seems to be creating the “space” for Dexter and Jamaal by running the WR’s (sometimes multiple WR’)s out of the area. I am liking what he is showing so far and it is still early.

Bowe is back in form and looking like the guy who has set some pretty high expectations for the season for himself. Isn’t that nice nobody has to light a fire under his ass anymore? Wylie continues to look good. Baldwin ran better routes and showed great hands, especially on a 20 yard sideline pattern where he went up well above two defenders and came down with the ball.

Next to Bowe, McCluster is – so far – our best WR. Not just with his catches but with his moves too. As I have said I had serious concerns about the depth of the WR group but what I am seeing out of Hemingway, Wylie and even Shoemaker over the last few days looks promising. Avery started looking like he was finding his groove yesterday and it was definitely located today as he had his best day. He flew past the CB and Demps just couldn’t stay with him as AS11 got the ball deep & in stride to him for a TD in 11 on 11’s.

Moeaki continues to look better every day. Kelce had another sick grab like the catch of the day he had yesterday although he did have a few drops too. Fasano had some nice plays showing the soft hands that made him a Red Zone target in Miami. Speaking of the RED ZONE – Not sure why but we have yet to see a single RED ZONE drill or play series yet! This really concerns me as we were terrible at scoring last year. Does anyone have a clue WHY we wouldn’t be focusing on this glaring weakness??

Alex Smith started off a little slowly and had his worst day as far as accuracy but was far from being bad. Stanzi had a few good passes today before looking bad again. Bray looked better but has so much to learn and it is very obvious he is neither comfortable nor a leader. Hopefully one of those two get their act together, as Daniel continues to be off on his accuracy. I don’t know if it is height or what, but he launches his passes with such an arc it is like he is trying to knock down a passing plane. His balls have no zip, they wobble and they take forever to get there. He fumbled two more snaps today. I remain concerned about our depth at QB.

While JC will continue to be our superstar RB, I saw more excellent vision, cuts, and speed from Davis today. Davis had ZERO balls on the ground, was incredibly quick to the edge and really showed his strength during the first 11 on 11 when he ran off right tackle, broke free for 5 yards and then lowered his shoulder, running over 2-3 DB’,s and came out still standing sprinting down the sideline for the score. The RB’s all ran the length of the field (40-60 yards) to the end zone when they scored or were done with their set.

The defense won the battle of the OL vs DL pass rush drills again today, but the OL stepped it up a notch with Albert, Stephenson and Hudson standing out the most. Our depth is disappointing there as none of the others appear worthy. Fisher continues to fight the learning curve. Lane continues to beat ALL of our OL and if his intensity continues I don’t see how he isn’t the starter at DE opposite TJ.

DL depth and DE starter was a concern that is fading fast. Sutton continued the aggressive blitzing he showed yesterday by bringing DJ frequently and the corners/safeties too.

Sean Smith and Flowers both looked like the starting tandem we so desperately need. Smith looked like he was beat deep by Bowe and AS threw a nice ball but he closed quickly and slapped the ball away from Bowe. Maybe Smith got a foot in the rear or an attitude adjustment – whatever it was he was into it today. Kendrick Lewis showed more today, S Demps looked good except for the Avery deep burn, Otha Foster had a pick 6, Robinson had an INT and Hartman was all over the field. The DB’s definitely won the battle today. During the 7 on 7′s DJ and Houston ended up in the backfield frequently through the gaps created by the aggressive push by the DL and ended plays with what would have been sacks, Yesterday I mentioned that Nico was pushing Jordan at SILB. Today Nico pushed him even further looking impressive coverage which is odd since that was supposed to be his “weakness.” Nico is very verbal and is becoming a camp favorite.

Special teams worked on the punt returns/coverage and added the wrinkle of a fake punt where Colquitt split out like a gunner! They never ran anything but watch for that to be used at some point this season. Demps, Dexter & Wylie took the kick coverage duty and both Dex & Devon took one to the house. Having a ST that actually puts points on the board – instead up giving them up – would be a welcomed addition.

Your loyal camp reporters,
KCMikeG & TrevorG