Last Friday I jumped in my trusty Nissan Sentra and set out for my second annual pilgrimage to Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph. This time I made a quick pit stop in Topeka to pick up my dad, who had never been to camp before (hey, pops!). After having a great experience last year, I was really looking forward to seeing how things would look under Romeo this year. There has been great coverage out of camp thus far, and most of it has mentioned how the camp this year has had an even faster tempo and energy than previous camps.

Unfortunately for those of us at camp on Friday, it was not a real energetic day. Romeo said as much in his press conference on Saturday. It didn’t help that about 20 percent of the practice was dedicated to punt team work. However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t walk away with some observations and predictions based on what I saw. So let’s get to it.

I’ll start with the offense.

First of all, my initial impression of new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is very positive. He was the most energized person on the field. He came out ahead of most of the players and coaches and shook hands, signed autographs, and posed for pictures with fans. He then proceeded to warm up Jon Baldwin (more on him in a minute) one-on-one while they waited for the rest of the team to get out to the field. He threw Baldwin some passes and then did a drill with him where he’d stand behind him and throw a ball up over his head and Baldwin would have to react instantly when it dropped into view and try to snatch it out of the air.

The thing I really like about Daboll is that he seems to balance his “harsh criticism” with positive energy more than Todd Haley did. Yes, he will jump on a guy who does something wrong, but 30 seconds later he’s right back to teaching or hopping up and down like a little kid because somebody did something he liked. It’s hard to judge an offensive coordinator before we see how his offense produces, but after watching him in action for one practice, I’m encouraged.

Watching the quarterbacks on Friday was not real encouraging. Of all the position groups they had one of the least impressive days. Cassel was Cassel, meaning that he was clearly the leader and #1 QB, but didn’t really impress. Quinn wasn’t really any better. I will say one thing: At this point Quinn is 100 percent  the #2 QB in camp. He always took the second team snaps ahead of Stanzi and when the QBs broke into two groups it was always Cassel with Quinn and Stanzi with Tanney. Despite the fact that Quinn hasn’t been great, he knows Daboll’s system and I didn’t see Stanzi do anything to deserve to pass him on Friday. Stanzi will have to clearly out-play Quinn in the preseason to claim the #2 QB job (in my opinion).
(Notice Daboll coaching WR Josh Bellamy as he runs his route)

The running backs were a different story. They all looked really good and I think the battle for the #3 RB spot could be one of the best to watch. I would have guessed that Cyrus Gray was a shoo-in for the job but I think Shaun Draughn may have something to say about that. Draughn looks a lot more powerful than Gray but still has a pretty explosive burst. I’d like to see Gray win the job, but if I didn’t know which back was which and you asked me who looked the best on Friday, I would have said Draughn.

The best part of the entire practice was at the very end when they did some red zone work and Jamaal Charles took the first snap of the drill put a sick cut on the first defender and then streaked outside to the end zone. It drew a round of “OHHHHH!!!” from the other players and sure looked like the old JC from before the injury to me.

The WRs were interesting to watch as well. As I mentioned earlier, Baldwin was one of the first players to hit the field and warmed up with Daboll before practice started. When the entire team started running together, Baldwin was the first player back by 15 yards. Now I didn’t see Baldwin make any highlight reel grabs like have been reported from other practices, but what I did see that has me just as excited is that Baldwin was clearly the hardest working WR on the field. Also, I remember that when I first saw Baldwin last year my thought was “Wow, he’s tall but kind of lanky. I hope he can take the physical nature of the NFL.” One year later things are very different. Baldwin is clearly bigger. I really noticed it in his legs. They almost looked like toothpicks last year, but not anymore. Just to be clear, I’m not saying he’s out of shape and put on weight. He clearly spent the offseason in the gym.

One other note on the WRs, Dexter McCluster appears to be 100 percent a slot WR. I’m not sure we’ll see him at RB at all this year. Not only did he spend the entire practice with the WRs, but Daboll gives the slot WRs some specific work of their own. During WR drills all the WRs would run some routes and then after they had all had a couple reps Daboll would have Dex, Devon Wylie, and Zeke Markshausen run a couple slot specific routes before they went on to the next drill. Dex clearly seems to be the top slot guy right now, as he was always ahead of Wylie both in drills and when they used a slot guy in 11 on 11 drills.

Besides the QBs, the other group that struggled on Friday at times was the offensive line. On about 50 percent of the 11 on 11 pass plays there was a pass rusher that could have sacked the QB. Justin Houston seemed to be able to get there anytime he wanted (more on him in a minute). It was really noticeable when a defender would run up to the QB and just stand there for two seconds until the QB got rid of the ball.

Now maybe since they weren’t tackling, the offensive line wasn’t going all out like they would in a game situation, or maybe the QBs have been instructed not to scramble as much in these drills and throw from the pocket, but the pass protection from the first team on down looked really suspect to me. I should also mention that the run blocking looked a lot better than the pass protection did. The other thing that I noticed was that Rodney Hudson seems to have added some bulk as well. There was some talk when he was drafted about him possibly being undersized for the NFL, but if you look at the picture below you can see how much bigger he is than Lilja.

One last offensive observation, I think the base package for the offense this year will be a two TE set with both Moeaki and Boss. It’s clear that Daboll wants to utilize the different looks he can get with these two. They lined up in 11 on 11 drills with 2 TEs a lot and at times would even put one in the backfield as an H-back (with the starters, it was Moeaki). Maybe this was because Bannon wasn’t practicing Friday, but I get the feeling that we may not see a lot of traditional fullback use outside of goal line and short yardage plays.

Now on to the defense.

Overall the defense looked pretty good on Friday. The question continues to be if the reason the defense looks good is because the offense hasn’t been very good or vice versa. I guess we’ll get a pretty good indication this Friday when KC plays its first preseason game. Brandon Flowers may not have practiced on Friday but he was walking around without any kind of noticeable limp.

Like most others who have attended camp this year, I paid special attention to Dontari Poe. He’s definitely as big and athletic as advertised. In the limited reps I saw him take I thought he looked mediocre going against double teams but almost unstoppable when matched up one on one. In one specific rep he went one on one with Lilja and drove him straight backwards about 10 yards. Unlike others who have reported from camp I still think Poe starts the season playing mostly in the sub package next to Bailey where he can use his freak athleticism to push the pocket. Then as the season goes by I think he’ll start to get more snaps at NT.

Speaking of NT, Anthony Toribio continues to be #1 on the depth chart. The KC Star even has a piece on him today. Before the offseason started I thought Amon Gordon would start at NT if Poe wasn’t ready since he played pretty well in limited reps last year, but I didn’t see Gordon take any reps with the first string defense. It was usually Toribio out there with Dorsey and Jackson in the base 3-4 with Poe getting a couple of snaps as well. If that doesn’t change as the preseason goes along it could mean that Jerrell Powe is going to have a real fight on his hands just to make the roster.

You have to think that Jackson, Dorsey, Poe and Bailey are locks for the final roster. Last year the Chiefs had six active defensive linemen on game day and two more that made the 53 but were inactive most games. If Toribio remains the starting NT that only leaves one active DL spot for games between guys like Powe, Gordon, Brandon Bair (who many are high on), Ropati Pitoitua (who is huge and was good enough to play regularly for the Jets), and 7th round draft pick Jerome Long. That’s another spot where KC fans will want to watch how things shake out during the preseason.

I was bummed that Siler didn’t practice, but he seemed to be moving around okay so hopefully he won’t miss any significant time. The LB who looked the best on Friday was Justin Houston. As I mentioned earlier, there were multiple times in 11 on 11 drills where he was instantly in the backfield and could have hit the QB if it was allowed. If he’s healthy all season I’d be shocked if he doesn’t get double digit sacks. The other interesting thing to watch may be if Andy Studebaker can keep his roster spot. I really like Studebaker. He’s smart, hardworking, has a great attitude, and is a solid special teams player. That having been said, I just don’t see the upside with him that you can see in Cameron Sheffield, Gabe Miller, and even the recently signed Edgar Jones. All of those other players have the speed and athleticism to be more of a threat in pass rush situations then Studebaker. If those other guys can show that they can play just as well on special teams then it could be the end of the road for Studebaker.

The final preseason battle that I’ll be keeping a close eye on is DeQuan Menzie and Jalil Brown. As others have reported, Menzie had a really good day on Friday with a couple of nice break ups. Jalil Brown also looked pretty good. Brown has the physical tools to be a Brandon Carr type corner. It’s just a matter of him developing the coverage skills. Overall, I feel really good about the secondary. Especially since Eric Berry appears to be back at 100 percent already. If we could go all season and the only DBs to see action on the field were Flowers, Routt, Arenas, Daniels, Brown, Menzie, Berry, Lewis, and Elam I think we’ll be all be very happy. It would certainly be an upgrade over the play of guys like Sabby Piscatelli, Donald Washington, and others who saw the field last year.

So overall I thought the defense looked ready to have a fantastic season.

The top three things/players I was disappointed in on Friday:

1. The QBs
2. The Pass Protection
3. Dwayne Bowe Not Being There

The top three things/players that impressed me on Friday:

1. Jon Baldwin
2. Justin Houston
3. Brian Daboll

When you look at my list of things that disappointed me on Friday, it’s a little worrisome that all three involve the passing game. Based on my one day at camp my prediction for the first preseason game is that the run game and defense look good and that the passing game struggles. That certainly wouldn’t be out of character for the Chiefs so I’m not exactly going out on a limb there.

If you’ve never been to training camp before I really recommend it. It’s a good time (even if the team has a down practice) and you get to see some of your favorite players up close and personal. Also, I highly recommend eating at Boudreaux’s while you’re in town. They have great Cajun food if that’s your thing (I recommend the Jambalaya and the Fried Alligator).

KC fans, we have a game this week! Isn’t life great?

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A friend of mine was at a panel discussion recently where a few NFL players were around to answer questions from fans. My friend asked Rams RB Steven Jackson what his philosophy is when it comes to hitting his teammates in training camp. Without hesitation he said, “They ain’t my teammates until week one.”

Patriots T Nate Solder was also there and continued the thought, “If you don’t go full steam, someone will take your job.”

Those two quotes perfectly reflect what training camp is all about. Together, they capture the kill-or-be-killed mentality that is in these players’ minds, even as they’re beating up on guys they are sharing a locker room, possibly a dorm room and several meals with. For now.

A few players are safe, a few others can probably count on remaining on the roster at least, but most of 90 men at St. Joe’s have to fight. For the bottom 68, these next few weeks will be their best chance to prove their worth. For the bottom 45, this will likely be their only chance – 37 will be cut and the best eight will receive practice-squad offers.

Although this keeps them on the team, it all but ensures that they will have no shot of playing this season unless there is a catastrophic series of injures at their position. They will spend every practice this season trying to quickly learn a few plays and formations that the Chiefs’ opponents run that week, and will be trying to emulate those for the starters’ benefit. They will not spend time learning the Chiefs playbooks or breaking down game film. They will essentially be human tackle bags.

The preseason is a strange time because of this dynamic. On one hand, it’s the first glimpse of football us crazed fans have seen since the first week of February. On the other hand, it’s not real football.

When the starters are on the field, they are essentially testing their chemistry and trying not to get hurt. When the backups come on, it’s like some sort of disorganized Thunderdome.

From the fan perspective, it’s great because it’s the only chance we get to see our depth players in action. From the starter’s perspective, it’s awful because they get little pay and no glory for essentially the same risk of injury. For those fighting for a roster spot, it is the Coliseum.

I say all of this as a drawn out preface to everything else I am going to be talking about for the rest of the preseason. We have to understand that everything we see from backup and auditioning players in preseason games is like a peek into bizarro world. You can’t take it for face value, particularly at the quarterback position. Opposing backup DB’s are bad, but the 2^nd and 3^rd-string O-lines are just as bad. QB’s both have to dance around behind comically dysfunctional blocking while throwing to receivers slicing through similarly discombobulated coverage.

Nonetheless, through this crystal ball we must look to determine whether or not we think these players are worthy of the NFL – a league where the gameplay is totally different than this preseason silliness.

I looked back at all of Rickie Stanzi’s 2011 snaps to see how he did in preseason bizarro world. Overall, he did not bad – especially considering the truncated offseason programs. But, if he is going to beat out Brady Quinn and put some heat on Matt Cassel, he is going to have to improve quite a bit.

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Pre-Snap, Pocket Presence

Stanzi was a known for his quickness at Iowa, and routinely made great throws off of scrambles and bootlegs. Posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.93 at the Combine isn’t bad for a QB, but that doesn’t qualify as speed in the NFL. In both the 2011 preseason film I watched from him and the reports I’ve seen so far from 2012 training camp, Stanzi has been off target on the run. At this level, DB’s are simply able to keep up with receivers, even if the QB extends the play. If he is going to continue to make this a key part of his game, he has to get a lot better at it.

He also had trouble sensing the rush last preseason – he either panicked and got rid of the ball unnecessarily or held it too long. In his defense, our backup O-linemen played awful.

He also seemed to be in over his head in making pre-snap adjustments. Cordell at The Film Room (a must-follow for you Twitter people out there) said, “Thing I liked about #Chiefs Tyler Palko was pre-snap…in preseason rarely ran a bad play…Stanzi was opposite, plays routinely blown up.” That’s right, when you’re being negatively compared to Palko, we have a problem.

But, that is what I often heard last year – that Palko was more confident and comfortable running the offense and making good decisions. Therefore, he started over Ricky. Still, the fact that Palko couldn’t throw a ball accurately more than seven yards should have also come into play in that assessment.

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Technique

I’m not QB expert, but I saw Stanzi several times making the type of weird side-armed throws that Brett Farve and Tony Romo are known for. If you can be accurate with them, then it’s no problem. But, usually it is one of those college habits that needs to be unlearned as the player adjusts to exponentially better defenders.

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Decision-Making, Throw Power

Against the Rams last year, Stanzi really put it together. Granted, St. Louis had one of the worst defenses on the NFL last year and Stanzi was playing their backups. Still, he showed poise and good decision-making. Although he definitely made some bad reads in the game, he diagnosed some good throws and executed them quickly. He relied heavily on TE’s and receivers going down the middle. My real concern was his arm strength, however. He took a couple of shots with long bombs, but both were lobbed as if they’d been fired from a mortar. When I looked back at his college tape, I saw much the same thing. All of his deep balls seemed to be from extremely high arcs. Furthermore, he threw a few balls that were a bit wobbly even on intermediate routes.

This to me means that he has roughly the same physical ceiling as Matt Cassel, which means he’s automatically out of the elite range of NFL QB’s even if develops all his other skills. However, if he can get better at all of the other things, there’s no reason he can’t be a very productive quarterback in this league. If he can outplay Quinn and Cassel with good, quick decision-making and accurate passing, we may even see him on the field this season. With big receivers and a run game that sets up play action well, he may not need to fire lasers deep.

What’s more, if he can get really good and fast at the short throws, he has a chance to be successful in the same way that Kurt Warner was able to be in his comeback as a Cardinal. This would mean that Stanzi will have to act and think like a veteran quick, but it’s certainly not impossible.

Either way, there are few players that I am more interested to see out there on the field for this round of bizarro world football than Ricky Stanzi.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

The Kansas City Chiefs* are back to football and Arrowhead Addict has reporters on the ground!

*”Kansas City Chiefs” does not include Dwayne Bowe.

The best thing about our AA Camp Reporters? They are you!

Arrowhead Addict strives on a daily basis to bring you the absolute best fan coverage of the best damn football team on the planet. We wouldn’t be able to do it without you.

Frequent AA commenter and community member Mike Gooding, AKA KCMikeG, generously volunteered to help out with observations and photo coverage. He was up half the night last night uploading photos for you all. I’ve put some of them in a gallery so you can get a visual look at what was going on in camp.

The team was just in helmets Friday with no pads. According to reports, it will be the same deal again today as head coach Romeo Crennel tries to ease his players back into the swing of things.

The vibe out of camp seems to be extremely positive. QB coach Jim Zorn seems to be willing to tell anybody who will listen how much more organized things are this year as opposed to last. You have to wonder what Todd Haley thinks when he hears stuff like that.

The Chiefs looked like crap last year during camp, preseason and the early regular season. It is good to hear that they appear to already be well ahead of the 2011 version.

We will have more on today’s practice but for now, check out some of Mike’s camp snapshots!

Note: Even though this camp report if from Friday’s practice (the one that was so humid and caused a lot of players to struggle) I feel I’ve included a lot of material that hasn’t been included in previous camp reports.

Well Chiefs fans, the first pre-season game is now less then a week away. I was faced with a tough choice this week. My birthday is Monday and I had two options for my gift this year, a new ipod or a road trip to St. Joe to spend a day at training camp on Friday. As a true addict, you can guess which option I picked (not to mention that the title of this post should have given it away). Now I have a couple of confessions. I had never been to training camp before. Several years ago I went to an open practice at arrowhead but that’s about it. So I’m going to approach this from two different angles. The first will be for those that have never gone to camp before so that you have some idea what its like and maybe even help you out if you’re considering going. Second, I’ll try to give you some insight into what I saw on the field at camp.

It can be a little overwhelming to try and keep tabs on everything that is going on so I decided to focus a lot of my time on the offensive and defensive lines. I did this for a few different reasons. First, it is the area where I’m most concerned and wanted to see how they looked. Second, when they aren’t tackling the lines are the only place you get to see actual contact going on that closest resembles actual game play. Finally, several of the players I was most excited to get a look at were in these groups. As an added bonus, I found that the masses tend to follow the skill players around so its easier to get a look at the big guys.

I’ll give a break down of a few players that I spent some time watching specifically. Some of these I set out to watch and a couple others just caught my attention. Among them are Jerrell Powe, Kelly Gregg, Allen Bailey, Tyson Jackson, Rodney Hudson, and David Mims.

One last confession, I named my column the Armchair Addict for a reason. I’m a true armchair quarterback. I do not claim to be an expert on the proper technique for offensive and defensive linemen. So these opinions are those of one fan who watched one day of practice. If nothing else, I got some pretty good pictures.

So come along to training camp with me after the break.

(more…)

While Scott Pioli will likely be busy all day working the phones and filling out the roster (hopefully signing a nose tackle) the Kansas City Chiefs who are eligible will be heading off to training camp at Missouri Western in St. Joseph.

The Chiefs will show up today at the training facility for some meetings and to get physicals. Once everything gets worked out, the players will board a bus and head to St. Joe.

The full camp schedule will be posted later on KCChiefs.com but here is what we’ve got so far:

As always, we are looking for training camp reporters. If you’d like to help provide AA training camp coverage with pictures, videos and practice descriptions, please email me at patrick.arrowheadaddict@gmail.com.

Who is heading up to training camp this year?

Source: Yardbarker.com

The Chiefs have 2 practices today as they continue their 1-2-1-2 practice format. Today’s morning practice, however, will be held inside and will be a closed to fans.

Today also features the first night practice of training camp. The Chiefs will take the field at 7:15 PM (CST) and will work under the lights until 9:15.

While I am annoyed that the morning practice is closed, I like the fact that Haley decided to move it inside. As we learned from our reporters yesterday, Tuesday’s practice was very, very hot. With a night practice already scheduled for Wednesday, Haley likely figured he could give his players a break from the heat by moving the afternoon practice inside.

This will give the players a full day out of the sun. They will will sweat a lot less which will enable the guys to stay hydrated and avoid cramps and muscle pulls. The time inside will also enable the team to work on some plays that they likely want to keep a secret.

The night practice, which will be #9 of training camp, will help the team get some reps under the lights. Considering their fist game will be played on Monday night, this is another good move.

Today’s practices have a great chance to be productive both physically and mentally for the Chiefs as they start the real grind weeks of camp. Let’s hope the players rise to the occasion.

If you are able to make the trip out to Chiefs training camp this year, I highly recommend it. You’ll get a close look at Chiefs players, and some big time action in a small town atmosphere. After reading the warnings saying to expect hot weather, crowds, and boring practices, I almost decided not to go. I took the chance yesterday, and was glad I did. Upon arriving for the AM practice, I found the hot weather in abundance, but not the crowds. The drills weren’t the equivalent of a Monday Night Football game, but were far from boring for the true Chiefs fan. Perhaps the most exciting scene was being able to witness Eric Berry signing his first autographs as a Kansas City Chief! All of the fans there were obviously pumped up for football. It was well worth the trip!  Go Chiefs!

Todd Haley and Charlie Weis look on as Brodie Croyle drops back.

Matt Cassel in the Wildcat formation (far sideline, yellow jersey)

Source: William

The afternoon practice is underway. Our guy William is back and providing us with updates. I am actually attending a party/BBQ around the corner so I will be in and out.

Here we go:

*Starting out with motion drills

*Not much action so far

*Players not in full pads

*Bowe drops a pass in drills looks to stubbed his hand redemeed himself on next play

*Battle blew coverage from Mays for a nice pass from Palko and Charles blew coverage from Belcher for a nice catch

* Sorry for lack of updates there hasn’t been much to talk about

* Palko fumbled another snap and carr had major pass interference on Bowe

*Brodie threw a brilliant td pass to number 83 (unlisted on roster) with double coverage

*Practice is over

One other note, I’m starting a campaign to stop this The Centaur nonsense. Not only is the nickname dated and stale, but I’m 100% sure that L.J., a huge hip-hop guy, isn’t down with it at all. I don’t care if Jesus came up with it himself (actually, it was Mitch Holthus)–the moniker blows. It won’t be recognized on this site. Sorry.

Here’s what they are saying about L.J., after the jump:

(more…)

“I’m gonna run that $51 million out of your fat ass! Run, rookie, run!”

Go ahead–take your crack at captioning this fantastic training camp snapshot…

(hat tip: Warpaint Illustrated)

Jeffri Chadiha: Last year, No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell staged a lengthy holdout and never was a factor during the season. Which rookie is most likely to fill that role in 2008?

Kansas City defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. This one is a no-brainer for two reasons. One is that Dorsey was arguably the best prospect in this year’s draft — a player capable of going No. 1 overall — until he slipped to the Chiefs at pick No. 5. The other factor is Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson. He is known for being a hard-line negotiator and I doubt that will change in the next few weeks.

Before we hit the panic button and worry about Ryan Sims part deux, let’s remember who we are talking about here. I’m paraphrasing, but before the draft one anonymous GM said that you’d have to sever one of Glenn Dorsey‘s limbs to keep him from playing. He’s tough and he’s got a great work ethic. Plus, Sims was widely considered a reach at six, and Dorsey is widely considered a steal at five. Also, Dwayne Bowe missed 10 days of camp last year, and we all know how he turned out. Deeeeeep breaths, everyone…

In other words, don’t expect Dorsey to be signed when training camp kicks off this Friday, but don’t expect the camp he misses to hold him back. I think as long as he doesn’t miss more than a week or so, we’ll be fine. This is why you penny pinched in free agency, Carl Peterson. Get him signed!