Chiefs Training Camp: Preparing For The Heat In St. Joe

The Kansas City Chiefs face their biggest test when they take the field this afternoon at 1:50 p.m.

Heat.

Yes, heat. If you live in Kansas City, or anywhere in the Midwest, you understand what I'm talking about. Walking down the street, sweat dripping into your eyes blinding you, being that guy with the sweat stains on your shirt and carrying one of those jugs of water they used to give the entire team in little league.

Wait, that's just me?

OK, well, the Chiefs understand the weather that's coming. The 95+ degrees and the handful of times it'll hit triple digits. It's one thing to be someone like me who's simply embarrassed after walking around in this heat. The players have to go through the grind in this, which at some point becomes a safety issue.

"The first couple days you get used to it and after that your body adapts and you just grind through it," Jon McGraw said Thursday arriving at camp.

That's one way to look at it.

Brian Waters is on the NFLPA executive committee so he'll tell you the same thing DeMaurice Smith has told me on a number of occasions: Player safety is the number one most important issue.

Waters talked about that after a reporter (somewhat) jokingly asked if they would include a no-training camp clause in the next collective bargaining agreement.

"Player safety and health is something we always have to be concerned about and if this environment is not conducive to those things, then that would definitely be part of any [collective bargaining agreement]," he said.

On the other hand, you've got a guy like Matt Cassel who in general just seemed jazzed to be at camp and ready to roll. The heat didn't seem to be much of an issue to him.

"The heat's the heat," Cassel said. "We've been dealing with it all offseason. Guys have been dealing with it all offseason. Guys have adjusted well and it's just taking care of yourself, getting in the cold tub and making sure you're drinking enough. I'm sure coach will take care of us and we'll talk about that a lot moving forward."

So if you're in St. Joe this weekend and you see some lowly blogger struggling to make it from the local pizza buffet back to practice....well, give him a ride, would ya?

(H/T Kansas City Star for good video footage of these interviews)