Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp Quotes: Eric Fisher, Dee Ford, And More
By Ben Nielsen
Aug 29, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Frankie Hammond (85) runs for yardage as Green Bay Packers running back Johnathan Franklin (23) attempts the tackle during the first half of the game at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 30-8. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
FRANKIE HAMMOND JR.
Q: Is it all about effort for you with regards to making this team?
HAMMOND Jr.: “It is effort but at the same time you want to detail your work because route running does take a little detail. But as far as special teams, it’s all effort and things of that nature, but I’ll be a returner and all of that stuff so that requires a little bit of focus and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, it is all effort and the work you put into it so I am working my tail off to make it happen.”
AA: If you’re looking for your 2014 surprise roster move, Hammond is your best bet. Keep in mind he spent all of last season on the practice squad so he should be familiar with the offense.
Q: Where do you think you need to improve as a receiver?
HAMMOND Jr.: “I’ll just say from all aspects, just catching to route running. I can improve in all aspects. There is room to improve everywhere and on the special teams side, whether it is being a gunner, whether it is a returner, it is just all aspects of being just a good player and developing.”
Q: Did the coaches talk to you about all the drops in practice yesterday?
HAMMOND Jr.: “Definitely. It is a day-to-day improvement to knock that rust off yesterday, but we’ve got to get better and keep improving.”
Q: How long did it take you last year to get the playbook down?
HAMMOND Jr.: “It took a little while because all of the positions are interchangeable. So you’ve got to know every position from the tight end to the receiver and almost even the fullback at some point. It took a while but like I said I just detailed it and just kept working and chipping away at it until I got it down.”
AA: Here’s one reason why counting on seeing De’Anthony Thomas a lot at wide receiver is probably unlikely. If you want to get him on the field a lot as soon as possible then running back is probably the best route to go.
Q: At Florida did you have those 10-15 word play calls that you have here?
HAMMOND Jr.: “No, no. We keep it simple in college. It gets a little wordy here but that is when you have to focus and put in that extra effort in the playbook so you can get it down.”
Q: How has the practice squad helped your development?
HAMMOND Jr.: “It helped a lot. I get to focus more on the playbook and it takes off the pressure because you are not actually going to the games and playing in the game from that Sunday so it is a little extra time to just develop and focus in on things because you may see things. You can try different things without worrying about, ‘What if I get that wrong?’ So it lets me try inside releases, outside releases and see how that goes because I’ve got room for error and see how that works out and kind of play with things and see how it works out.”
AA: Between Hammond, Junior Hemingway, Weston Dressler, A.J. Jenkins, Mark Harrison, and Albert Wilson, there is a lot of intrigue at wide receiver.