Chiefs Scouting Motto And Laddie’s Camp Notes
By Laddie Morse
Cairo Santos
I was at Chiefs Camp on Friday and Saturday last week. The weather was amazing on Friday. A little cool in the early morning and a little overcast to boot but, it was perfect weather for football. I had the great pleasure of meeting up with Stacy Smith, Lyle Graversen and Ben Nielsen on Saturday at camp. Don’t miss AA Radio this fall because these gentlemen have a ton of Chiefs related knowledge and are super fun to spend time talking to. Next year we’ll have to do a meet-up with some Arrowhead Addict fans. Let us know if you’re interested.
When I arrived on Friday, Ryan Succop and Cairo Santos were have a kicking contest on the second field. Each player would take three kicks from the 10 then the 15 then the 20 and so on and so forth until they got to the 35 yard line. I didn’t see either one miss a shot until Santos missed on his last kick. An observation about Santos. While he may be short in stature, no one should mistake that he has a bazooka leg. There are two aspects of his skills that stood out.
1) Santos has a short and compact kicking motion and looks like he’s kicking with the exact same motion on every single kick. Whether that’s from the 10 or the 35, he very consistent in his approach. As opposed to Santos, Succop has a kind of gangly lucy-goosey kicking motion that changes from kick to kick.
2) Santos seems to nail the ball right down the middle of the uprights 95% of the time too. That kind of consistency is rare to find. That’s the reason I believe Ryan Succop may be in trouble.
Now that I’ve seen Cairo Santos “Live” I’m even more convinced it would be a positive decision for the Chiefs to move forward with him as the kicker. The preseason games will tell an important part of this story but from where I sit, Santos has a great shot to make this team. Furthermore, if he doesn’t wind up on the Chiefs roster, you can bet he’ll end up on someone else’s that for sure. And… it’s always a bit disturbing when that happens.
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Kyle Williams
Kyle Williams is having an excellent camp. He’s going to make one heck of a slot receiver. With Junior Hemingway set to be the likely starter, Williams looks to share the snaps and there will be no drop off when he’s in the game. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is the starter in the slot by year’s end. I’ve seen Williams come off the line of scrimmage and make a move to get free that totally fooled the slot DB. I’m not saying he’s the next coming of Andre Reed but he’s been impressive. Having been around for 4 seasons in the league, he seems to have hit his stride.
Don’t forget that Kyle Williams and QB Alex Smith have some history together when they were with the 49ers. Although, perhaps not the kind you might think. When Williams fumbled and lost a punt that resulted in the Giants scoring and winning the contest, Smith stepped up and said after the game that, “Offensively, we weren’t good enough today and we didn’t get it done.” When a player takes the heat for another player in a moment like that, it forms a bond that can’t be broken.
Look for good things from Kyle Williams in 2014.
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De’Anthony Thomas
You want to know a secret? There is no secret. Not any more. Especially when it comes to understanding that running back, wide receiver, punt returner and kick returner De’Anthony Marquies Thomas (DAT), the Chiefs 4th round pick, is be a wunderkind and I’m predicting he’ll be up for rookie of the year in the NFL. The camp reality is… DAT looks better than anyone on the Chiefs practice field… except for Jamaal Charles. He’s not only having a great camp, but he makes the plays that he’s a part of, look special.
With Mr. Dwayne Bowe looking like the Bowe of old, with the tight ends looking tight, with Kyle Williams and Junior Hemingway giving the Chiefs a solid slot threat, with JC looking more JC-ish than ever… adding a lightning bolt like DAT should put the Chiefs offense over the top. Meaning, opposing defenses are going to have one hellaciously miserable time deciding who to cover.
Expect to hear a lot of opposing fans mumbling to themselves, “What was that?” Because De’Anthony Thomas is a blur most of the time. There no other way to describe him.
My last camp observation is that the Chiefs have improved in many ways in the past 24 months, the last time I packed my bags and went to a Chiefs camp. The Chiefs have been able to find some incredibly talented players and add them to an already gifted roster.
I guess the scouting departments for some other teams have been… well… napping.
What do you say Addict fans? Been to camp? What do you think? I guess we’ll find out starting tomorrow night!