* End of the longest losing streak in Chiefs history.

* The players made plays.  Larry Johnson 7.1 yds/carry.  Dwayne Bowe 7 Receptions 81 yds.  Tony G 3 receptions 47 Yds.  Damon Huard 75% comp % with no INTs.  Derrick Johnson 1 forced fumble, 1 int.  Dorsey and Tank Tyler stuffing the middle.  Herb Taylor filling in for Brandon Albert.

* Kolby Smith doing the Tomahawk Chop

* Young Chiefs Defense becoming ball hawks.  Every play the Chiefs defense was ripping at the ball.  The result was two fumbles recovered and two interceptions.

* Our young CBs holding their own.  Carr had 2 Tackles, 3 passes defended, an interception and a fumble recovery.  Flowers had 7 Tackles, 2 passes defended and a fumble recovery.  Dmitri Patterson had 8 Combined Tackles.

* Larry Johnson runs for 198 yards and 2 TDs

* Arrowhead Stadium rocking the whole game instead of booing.

* Chiefs score 32 points.  (what is this?  the arena league?)

* Herm going on the field to check on Tony G when he was hurt (which he NEVER does)

* Denver Broncos only had 94 yards total rushing.

*Dantrelle Savages 51 yard Kickoff Return when we needed it most.

* LJ smiling

This will cheer you up.

Taking active part in the two-hour practice was rookie LT Branden Albert. He took every snap with the first-team offense, his first extensive practice time since since suffering a foot injury way back on July 31st in a joint workout with the Minnesota Vikings in River Falls. Herm Edwards wasn’t willing to commit to Albert being the starter on Sunday against the Patriots. What he left unsaid is this: if Albert shows up Thursday morning and has no problems with his foot from all the work, he’s the man.

Up until today, Albert was looking seriously at playing his first NFL game in Week 2, at Arrowhead Stadium. Until last week, Albert finally returning to practice was good news. This, of course, is a fantastic progress report to hear from Bob Gretz. Venture a guess in today's poll as to Albert's Week 1 status.

More to come later. Thanks again for your patience with my lack of posting.

H/T to BobGretz.com

Poll

Do you think Branden Albert will start against New England?

• Yes
• No
• He won't start but he'll play

  256 votes | Results

Had a video from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune up about last night's practice but I couldn't figure out to make it not automatically play when you came to the site. So, I took it off. Auto playing music and video is my biggest internet pet peeve. If I find something later, I'll put it here.

Good Friday morning, everyone. Here are your links to the coverage of last night's practice between the Minnesota Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs.

WPI is here, here and here.

BobGretz.com

The Star-Tribune has a bit of coverage as well.

UW-RF

Kansas City Star

Last night's "contest" between the Chiefs and Vikings wasn't so much of a scrimmage as a practice. Still, the presence of competition was enough for a few players to come out of it with minor injuries. Jared Allen didn't make the trip, as Vikings' coach Brad Childress excused a number of veteran players.

Branden Albert had his ankle stepped on and had to leave practice early. Bob Gretz wonders if Albert's ankle issues are chronic, considering Albert sprained his ankle earlier in the off-season. Since his ankle was stepped on and not the result of a shift or move by Albert himself, I don't think you can look too hard into that. It could have happened to anyone.

Kolby Smith pulled his groin and Donnie Edwards tweaked a hamstring. Beyond that, consider ourselves lucky nothing serious happened. We'll be lucky to get through camp without at least one serious injury to a Chiefs player. Last year it was Damion McIntosh's knee but that turned out to heal rather quickly.

In all of the camp reports I've read this year, Dwayne Bowe has had zero regression from last year and by all accounts will have a stellar sophomore season. He doesn't seem to need as much time to get back into football mode as some other players.

Speaking of D Bowe, I absolutely love highlighting stories about him like this one, from the UW-RF site:

Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe had some fun on the sideline during an 11-on-11 drill. Bowe sat down on a training table before asking a group of media members if they were having fun. He gave the media the peace sign while sticking out his tongue. One member asked Bowe if that meant he was having a good time. He said yes. A fan dressed in a Vikings jersey joked with Bowe about putting his picture up on MySpace. Bowe responded to the man by saying, "You better add me as a friend."

Vikings CB Benny Sapp picked off Damon Huard, undoubtedly aided by playing for the Chiefs last season. Sapp was a decent corner but too small really to be a full time starter. We wish him the best of luck in Minnesota.

Check out the links above and let us know if you find anything else interesting. It's Friday, so expect a more laid back approach today. The Chiefs only have an afternoon practice from about 3:45 to 5 PM today.

P.S. Had someone sign up with the user name JJBirden last night and yep, it's actually him.

They almost got all of those names right. Almost.

There are two more cuts to be made in order to get the team down to the league-mandated 80 player roster. We've been keeping a pretty good eye on the roster around here so I'm sure we'll have news of two more cuts soon enough here.

The news of the cuts won't come, at the earliest, until later this morning so here's what I'm reading to help tide you over.

Cornerback Flowers close to signing

Flowers is one of three remaining Chiefs draft picks yet to sign a contract. Like we've been saying, don't expect Dorsey and Albert to be on camp on time. Let's just hope it doesn't take too long.

Southern Quarterbacks

I've always felt that geographical studies combined with sports was pretty interesting. Bob Gretz at KCChiefs.com puts out an article worth a read this morning. He sums it up with this sentence - "The Gulf Coast has become the breeding ground for NFL quarterbacks."

Owner Rankings

Not surprisingly, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis comes in at #31 on a list of the worst NFL owners. Michael Silver puts it well - "Davis, 79, hasn’t just lost his fastball; the man has lost his changeup, and his metaphorical catcher keeps assuring him he’s better than Bob Gibson in his prime."

As Chiefs fans, we complain about Carl Peterson a lot but we really don't give enough credit to our behind the scenes ownership. Think Oakland, Jacksonville and imagine how sad it would be to be a fan there.

Rookie Holdouts

Jeffri Chadiha doesn't seem too confident that Glenn Dorsey will be in River Falls in a timely fashion. Chadiha, on which rookie is likely to stage a lengthy holdout.

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.

H/T Arrowhead Addict

Bowe or Johnson?

I'm stealing one more thought from Arrowhead Addict this morning to throw out one question - Who will have more yards this season - Larry Johnson or Dwayne Bowe?

Smells like...training camp!

The Kansas City Chiefs currently have 86 players on their roster, meaning they'll have to cut six by the time training camp starts on Thursday. Until this season, the minimum used to be higher than 80 players but with the folding of NFL Europe, teams now have on average eight players less to take to camp. Before, teams could take those extra eight players and ship them off to NFL Europe before the regular season roster deadlines would hit.

By August 26th, teams will have to trim their roster to 75 players and by August 30th the roster has to be down to the regular season maximum of 53 players.

So, six need to go. Who are they? Who knows, really. Here's a rundown by position, using a blogger's best friend - a list! I've also put the number of cuts next to each position. Predicting cuts is a terribly inexact science, so I'm hoping for a lively debate. In fact, you can make solid arguments against some of my choices below.

Quarterback (0) - The Chiefs only have three quarterbacks on the roster now, which means they're almost assuredly taking all three currently on the roster to camp with them. You'd even like to have four QBs but it doesn't appear that's going to happen before camp. No cuts from this group.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Fullback (0) - I think the Chiefs will take all four fullbacks to camp but only one will be on the regular season starting roster. They're all safe for now.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Offensive line (1) - Of the fourteen offensive linemen on the roster, five of them will be starters and we know who they are - McIntosh, Albert, Jones, Niswanger and Waters. That leaves nine and we'll need at least one backup in each spot for the regular season. That leaves four guys out and here's a guess on who they are - Tre Stallings, Ken Shackleford, Travis Leffew and LJ Anderson. Stallings has been on a couple of practice squads before so maybe he has a chance to make it but I don't think so. The Chiefs probably take almost all of these guys to camp but four will likely have to go for the regular season. One possible cut here but I doubt it.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Travis Leffew, Ken Shackleford, Tre Stallings, Edwin Harrison, L.J. Anderson or Rob Smith.

Tight End (0) - Of the five tight ends on the roster, Tony Gonzalez is a definite yes, followed by Brad Cottam and maybe Michael Allan to make the final roster. The Chiefs will have at least two tight ends on the active roster and may keep another one on the practice squad. In fact, we'll likely end up with three on the final roster, with the last spot going to a big time blocking tight end. For now, I think all of them make it to training camp because of the uncertainty surrounding who will be our blocking tight end.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Wide Receiver (2) - We have a glut of wide receivers now (nine total) and I think two of these guys are definitely gone. This is an expendable position because of the preference of defensive players over offensive ones to play on special teams. A couple of these guys won't be able to hang on as a special teamer. I think Kevin McMahan and Jabari Arthur bite it from this group because of their "Who the hell am I?" status. You can also throw Bobby Sippio in there as well. The guy didn't catch a pass last year and sat on the practice squad for a little over a week with no interest from other NFL teams who were allowed to sign him at any point during that time.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Jabari Arthur, Kevin McMahan or Bobby Sippio.

Running back (0) - Johnson, Battle, Smith, Charles, Savage and McCrae all make the training camp squad but only three make it to the regular season. Savage, Battle and McCrae will be the odd men out come September. The Chiefs have solid #1 and #2 backs with Charles and Johnson but I think they're unsure beyond that. That explains the glut of solid backups.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None but leaning toward one of these guys being let go this week. That's a lot of running backs.

Corner back (1) - There are nine CBs on the squad now and a lot of uncertainty after Surtain, Flowers and Carr on the depth chart. Herm and co. will probably take all but one of these guys to River Falls, with a few others being cut by September. Expect some to stick around strictly as special teamers.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Will Poole, Jason Horton or Maurice Legget.

Linebacker (1) - There are ten linebackers on the roster and two tiers have clearly developed. The top tier is Derrick Johnson, Donnie Edwards, Demorrio Williams and Nap Harris. Below that are a half dozen special teams/backup types, almost all of whom will be on the practice squad or strictly special teams. The numbers don't require the Chiefs to cut many here, so just one probably goes from this group.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Steve Octavien, E.J. Kuale, Nate Harris, Weston Dacus or LeRue Rumph.

Defensive Ends (1) - The Chiefs haven't settled on their Jared Allen replacement because they have seven defensive ends currently on the roster. Because of the large number of players at this position, I think one of these guys doesn't make it to River Falls. Turk McBride, Tamba Hali and Alfonso Boone are locks to make the team, with UDFAs rounding out the rest of the crop.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Trevor Johnson, Johnny Dingle or Jason Parker.

Defensive Tackles (0) - All six d-tackles will be going to River Falls, considering that six isn't really that many to have on the roster at this point. The rotational nature of the position means you'll always have a few extra around, making it easier to slip into camp as an UDFA. Dorsey, Edwards and Tank likely make up the starting three.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Kicker (0) - Do you think Herm Edwards will ever go into camp with less than two kickers after the disappointment Justin Medlock was last year? Novak and Barth both go and I'm not sure which one makes it out as the starter.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Safety (0) - Safety is another good position for filling special teams. Page and Pollard are the starters and Herm's boy John McGraw is also a lock to make the team. DaJuan Morgan is another lock and a future starting contender.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Those are my general positions that I think the cuts will come from. They're based on a mixture of number at that position, stability of the starters and historical precedent.

Your thoughts on who stays and who goes this week before camp starts?

Cue the Priest Holmes training camp appearance in 3, 2, 1....

My blood pressure goes up the day camp starts and guys aren't there because of contract negotiations. From PFW:

And from what we hear, Kansas City is still not close to signing their two Round One choices, DT Glenn Dorsey and OL Branden Albert, both of whom may be waiting for more of their fellow first-rounders to ink deals. An even greater concern, however, is that the Chiefs haven’t been able to nail down contracts with many of their mid- and late-round picks, a few of whom they’ll need to contribute immediately.

What's holding up the signing of our draft picks? Well, first off, it's not that late in the process just yet. You'd expect Glenn Dorsey to at least wait until the first defensive player picked before him, Chris Long, is signed so you can compare deals. That's to be expected.

Still other delays stem from the lack of a collective bargaining agreement in 2011, which affects the allocation of money throughout the life of a contract. From John Clayton:

Under the rookie pool, base salaries can only increase 25 percent per year, but agents found a loophole in which a draft choice can receive a one-time bonus and guarantee it in the final year of the contract. This particularly affects second-round choices because they sign four-year deals. The problem in this summer's negotiations is that there is no collective bargaining agreement in 2011 so the fourth year of the contract can't be involved in any kind of guarantees.

So, we have the usual summer contract BS to deal with this year, plus an amorphous "future" contract problem.

To date, only three first round picks have signed - #1 Jake Long, #3 Matt Ryan and #4 Darren McFadden.

It really appears that at least Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert will not be participating in training camp for at least a couple of weeks.

I fully expect six or seven of our remaining nine unsigned picks to complete contracts in bunches over the next ten days or so, which seems to be the Kansas City Chiefs' modus operandi when it comes to this stuff.

And just to mention the picture, doesn't it seem like forever ago that we were talking about Priest Holmes at River Falls, WI? Man, a 4-12 season will age you quickly.

I'm almost positive that this Bob Gretz article from the mothership is in response to this one from Jon at MVN but judge for yourself. First, Jon's point about the Chiefs signing first round picks:

Ryan Sims’ Dad made a pretty glaring accusation a few months ago that Carl Peterson has a history of low-balling first round picks. He claims that at the NFL Draft, many NFL teams warned him about Peterson’s ways. While so many were quick to brush this off and claim that because Sims was fat and lousy as a player, he has no credibility. I, on the other hand, became concerned as to whether there is any truth to his comment. Quietly, Peterson has racked up a very lousy recent track record of bringing first round picks to camp on time. Dwayne Bowe was a holdout. Tamba Hali made it to camp literally hours before camp started. Derrick Johnson was a holdout (albeit, a short one). Ryan Sims was a holdout. John Tait was a holdout. Sylvester Morris was a holdout. The only recent player to make it to camp in plenty of time was Larry Johnson.

And here's part of what Gretz wrote and was posted this morning:

Based on what they write and what they say, who could possibly think otherwise that the Chiefs drag their feet and are extra tough in negotiations, especially when it comes to their earliest selections.

The truth, however, is something quite different. Over the most recent five-year period of signing first-round picks (2003-07), the Chiefs rank in the middle of the league when it comes to getting their first choice signed. They are neither the team that is the earliest of signers or the latest. They aren’t even close to being the team that suffers the most first round holdouts.

Gretz uses the end of July as his measure of what a hold out is because if a player gets into camp by August, he's only missing a few days of practice. I think that's a valid measure.

I think they're both right (Ha, way to take a stand I know). While Gretz is correct that at least recently the Kansas City Chiefs have done a decent job of getting picks signed in a timely fashion, Jon is also correct to point that Carl Peterson does indeed have a bad reputation when it comes to contract negotiations. What's missing from Gretz's article is other contract negotiations, not necessarily rookie ones. Jon ends with a valid point:

There seems to be a huge divide between the players and the front office. Kyle Turley ranted on Sirius NFL Radio shortly after his retirement about the front office’s tactics. Greg Wesley accused the Chiefs of lying to him about their intention to release him. Trent Green was clearly not happy about the way he was let loose (and long-revered Chief Will Shields chimed in on Sirius NFL Radio that he concurred). The Chiefs are having a hard enough time attracting marquee talent in Kansas City; they can’t afford to lose players because they can’t put up with the management.

And there's the point to be made about Carl Peterson that Gretz doesn't mention. It's not about just the rookie contracts. It's about resigning players without BS. That, is something that Carl Peterson can't claim to have done successfully and is really the whole point of this debate.

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section, where I'll flesh out my thoughts throughout the day.

From yesterday's Q&A on the mothership.

Branden Albert's ankle sounds like it's going to be okay and that Albert is almost guaranteed to be our starting left tackle this year.

"Still sore. If we had to play he could play. There are certain guys who probably could play if we had a game but we’re going to be careful now. He’s shown us enough that he can play tackle for us."

After today's practice in St. Joe, MO, the team will be "off" until late July. The rookies will stick around for a bit after today though.

"They’ll continue to condition. The coaches won’t be around. [Strength and Conditioning coach] Cedric [Smith] will have them. They’ll do all that and they have to go [visit] the [Pro Football] Hall of Fame. They’ll have the weights. We have some other things planned for them."

Does anyone else get the feeling that Damon Huard will be on this team forever? For-ever.

"You need a guy who can go in who, if something should happen, can manage the game. It was tough on him last year and we were OK early. Then we couldn’t run the ball and struggled some. If you can’t run the ball it makes it tough on any quarterback."

Come on KC Media. You know Herm doesn't take kindly to the expression that the Kansas City Chiefs "squeaked" into the playoffs in 2006.

"If you look at us when we got in the playoffs, in my opinion, you knew what kind of team you had. You knew what these guys accomplished to get in. We squeaked in but we won enough games at the end. We won the last game that we needed to win."

Hermism alert!

"We’ve got a young crop of players who are very good and in two drafts prior to that two crops who are good. You’re talking about going from one of the oldest teams to one of the youngest teams in football. That’s good for us and I think the fans will enjoy watching this team play."

It seems like everything he says nowadays could be considered a Hermism. Or I'm going crazy. One of the two.

Finally, Herm leaves us with a rather shaky statement about getting the Chiefs draft picks signed and in training camp on time.

"They have to make the decision. Their agents do the negotiations but they have to understand that at the end of the day I play football and I’ve got to make sure he gets it done. I’m pretty sure they’ll get there."

Oddly enough, as the Chiefs practice for the final time before training camp, we'll be ramping up our posts here at AP. This is the most boring time for Chiefs news and NFL news in general so we're going to flip the script and do our best to make the next 57 days as interesting as possible. I can't promise excitement - that comes with exciting news - but I can promise interesting discussion. And that's where you come in just as much as me.

From the venerable Kent Babb, at the KC Star.

Albert shuffled to his left and leaned against a wall. He smiled, acknowledging that hazing is part of the rookie welcome, injury or not.

Albert was standing when he said the sprained ankle he suffered Sunday likely would keep him out of the Chiefs’ final week of offseason practice. He did not practice Tuesday and said he didn’t expect to work today or Thursday.

Imagine you're Herm Edwards and a reporter just asked you about Albert's off-season sprained ankle. Do your best Herm impression in the comments. Spice it up with a Hermism if you've got one.

"He's a young guy. Young guys get over that stuff quickly. He'll be fine. Rest, that's the key. We'll rest him."

work·horse  [wurk-hawrs] 

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