Good morning, AP. Another dose of Kansas City Chiefs news to get you through the day. Enjoy!
The Chiefs can only hope it’s not an omen that the first pass during team drills at training camp was dropped by Chris Chambers.
They’re still stinging from last year’s NFL-high 48 drops. The Chiefs are trying to work through the issue, but passes are still occasionally bouncing off hands.
It’s a source of frustration to coach Todd Haley for more than the obvious reasons. He’s also a former position coach who prides himself on getting the most from wide receivers.
"I don’t think you’re going to have success if you’re dropping a lot of balls," Haley said. "That is something our coaches and players are very cognizant of, and I think you’ll see them continue to work on that."
Chiefs receivers hope for fewer drops in 2010 from KC Star
Injury always results in opportunities on an NFL roster.
Veteran guard Brian Waters’ unexplained absence from the first week of Chiefs practice has led to increased time for an unheralded second-year player. A veteran of only one NFL game, Darryl Harris continues to line up with the first-team offensive line at left guard in Waters’ usual spot.
Harris — a 2009 free-agent rookie from Mississippi — spent 13 weeks last year on the Chiefs’ practice squad. He was called up to the 53-man roster for the final three games, spending two inactive while appearing in just one game.
Waters' absence opens opportunities from News-Press Now
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming north northeast between 4 and 7 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. North northeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm.Training Camp Forecast from The National Weather Service
After nearly one week at training camp, Moeaki is someone who has looked sharp. Still, coach Todd Haley said the tight ends and wide receivers are expected to improve.
"Tony is just like the rest of this rookie group," Haley said, "and I’m encouraged by each and every one of them and I’m hoping that each and every one of them can come in here and help us be a better football team."
Chiefs notes: Moeaki has a big night from KC Star
He's the starting left guard who is filling in for the (apparently) injured Brian Waters. Harris goes back to the bench when Waters returns but it's more than a little telling that playing for a coaching staff that promotes competition for starting spots, Harris has consistently been their guy.
''Darryl is a great example of a young, developing player,'' coach Todd Haley said. ''You didn't hear his name much at all last year except maybe for the last couple of games when we had to activate him.
Meet Darryl Harris from The Red Zone
Per the rules set up prior to camp, the public did not view the two-hour session at the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex. However, the media received a last-second un-invitation to practice which led to some icy questions.
Haley joked that media also looked tired after Tuesday, and he wanted to give the group a day off.
That led to a follow-up question concerning the level of paranoia in the club. Without missing a beat, Haley erased the wry smile that accompanied his previous joke and remained stoic and composed in his response.
"I don't think I'm paranoid at all, no," he said.
Media tries to rattle Haley's cage from News-Press Now
KC Star Photo Gallery: Chiefs practice under the lights Wednesday night
New-Press Now Photo Gallery: Chiefs Training Camp
CBS Rapid Report: Kansas City Chiefs
Tyson Jackson's first season as the main building block in Kansas City's new defense can be described in three short words: one paltry sack.
There was precious little production from the LSU star the Chiefs drafted third overall in 2009 and projected as the prototype defensive end in their new 3-4 scheme.
Was he overrated? Lazy? Did the new regime of Scott Pioli and Todd Haley repeat the mistakes their predecessors kept making and blow a high pick on an underachieving defensive lineman?
Chiefs hoping for big things from big man from KC Star
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says the league wants to test players for human growth hormone "to protect the integrity of our game."
In an interview with The Associated Press while riding with former NFL coach and TV broadcaster John Madden on the Madden Cruiser between visits Wednesday to the Ravens and Redskins training camps, Goodell called the HGH issue a key element of ongoing labor negotiations involving owners and the players' union.
NFL's Goodell wants blood testing for HGH from KC Star
The estimate of 8,000 nears the stadium record set during October’s Western-Northwest Missouri State game that drew 10,129.
Linebacker Derrick Johnson praised the boisterous crowd, saying he was glad to have camp in St. Joseph.
"The Chiefs fans are always loyal to us," Johnson said. "They come down and support us and give us a lot of energy; I’ll tell you that especially at this grinding time in the middle of camp. Everybody’s tired, trying to push through. The fans give you a little extra edge."
Night practice draws biggest crowd from News-Press Now
But head coach Todd Haley, who took a while to warm to Charles last season after Larry Johnson was released, said Wednesday that which running back carries the ball will be determined on "who's hotter." "I think it'll depend on a lot of different factors: who's hotter, who's running better, who's blocking and picking up blitzes better, who's doing a lot of things better and who's healthiest," Haley said to the team's official Web site......These kinds of stories have a tendency to get blown out of proportion -- and I guess I'm not helping by writing this note. But after the last four weeks of 2009, Haley knows whom is his best runner
Todd Haley hinting at committee backfield in Kansas City from Fantasy Football Toolbox
The most important fantasy move of the NFL offseason involved an aging running back who is now a backup.When Thomas Jones signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, it affected more than just last year's third-leading rusher. Two other potential important running back picks were affected — one positively and one negatively.
That is how the offseason goes. With every player moving, somebody wins, and somebody else is not happy to see their new teammate's arrival. In Jones' case, we could forget about the soon-to-be 32-year-old gunning for his sixth consecutive 1,100-yard season or adding significantly to his 29 total touchdowns over the last two seasons.
Player Movement Affects NFL Landscape from USA Today
That moment happened when Chiefs coach Maurice Carthon took his running backs over to the Porta-Potty on the practice field not to relieve themselves, but to do a pass-catching drill......If any of you have ever spent more than a minute or two in a porta-john in the summer at a concert or other event, you know that it's not the greatest place to hang out in. You get in and get out quickly. And, unless you think that these porta-johns are just props, forget it. Allegedly, a certain first-round offensive lineman draft choice from a couple of years ago used the "facility" just minutes before the running backs headed over there.
Whew ... 104 degree heat indexes aren't necessarily the worst thing players have to deal with in camp, eh?Kansas City training camp: It's hot, but it's gotta be hotter in those Porta-Potties from Examiner.com
Tim Parnacott has been to his fair share of Kansas City Chiefs training camps through the years. He’s likely to attend a few more in the future.
Since the Chiefs have moved their training camp facility to Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Parnacott has plans to attend at least a week’s worth of preseason practices this month. There’s a good chance many of the Chiefs fans in the metropolitan area and throughout the Midwest region will be following suit.
"A lot more fans will be taking their sons and daughters up to St. Joe for the day," said Parnacott, a 15-year Liberty resident and lifelong Chiefs fanatic. "There’s going to be a whole new generation of Chiefs fans. It just makes sense to make the most of the opportunity."
Fans make most of chance to see Chiefs close to home from The Liberty Tribune
The federal government has been encouraging states to pass laws to try and remove Native American nicknames and logos from schools for years with slow-moving results. Yet, it is quick to turn its head to what is going on in its own backyard.
The NFL's Washington Redskins team has been under fire from Native American organizations for its name and logo for nearly 40 years.
However, last November the U.S. Supreme Court, in a one-line ruling, refused to take up the case of seven Native Americans, which was originally filed in 1992. The action lets stand a decision by a federal appeals court in Washington that they had waited too long to bring their challenge to the Redskins trademark, established in 1967, and thus forfeited any right to sue.
Column: Pros play by different rules in logo battles from Green Bay Press Gazette
The Town of Century is working on plans to dedicate the Anthony Pleasant Sports Complex this fall......The 22 acre park was named after Century native Anthony Pleasant (pictured), a former pro football player selected in the third round of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. During his 14 year NFL career, Pleasant played for the Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, the Atlanta Falcons, the New York Jets, the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots. He played a total of 202 NFL games and racked up 58 sacks and two interceptions and a defensive end.
Pleasant is currently the defensive line coach for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
Century Making Plans To Dedicate Anthony Pleasant Sports Complex from NorthEscambia.com
There’s a particular Canadian flavour to NFL training camps this year with teams doing more than their share of player shopping north of the border......There are 10 other players who participated in the CFL last season who are trying to make the jump to the NFL and a bigger payday.
But more surprising is the number of former Canadian university players who’re being afforded the opportunity to crack an NFL roster...
...Concordia linebacker Cory Greenwood with the Kansas City Chiefs, Bishop’s receiver Shawn Gore with the Green Bay Packers and Waterloo offensive lineman Joel Reinders with the Cleveland Browns. They are all hoping to join the four other CIS grads who are established on NFL teams.
NFL orders up some more Canadian bacon from The Globe and Mail