Your Chiefs Training Camp Practice Report

The third day of practice in the Kansas City Chiefs training camp is in the books. It was another hot and humid day at Missouri Western State University as the Chiefs took the field for a pair of practice sessions today. The first one, per the new rules, was a walk-through and the second one was more of a regular practice.

The defensive and offensive linemen got to put shoulder pads on today but other than them the rest of the guys were just in helmets. If Todd Haley wanted to, he could have put them in full pads today.

The most entertaining part of practice is usually the competitive period at the end which is basically 11-on-11. Today, though, I think the best part was the linemen going at it. 

Here's how it worked: one defensive lineman (notable NT Anthony Toribio and NT Jerrell Powe) would line up against three offensive linemen. The ball is snapped and each side tries to bury the other. Toribio and Powe seemed to hold their own at times on the defensive side and I noticed rookie C Rodney Hudson driving some of the defensive linemen. It didn't hurt that this drill happened right in front of where the media was standing.

It looked like there would be a fight on nearly every play because it was so intense but, alas, we are fight-free through three days of camp.

We heard from a number of players and coaches, including Bill Muir and Jim Zorn so look for stories on those guys coming soon.

Onto the practice notes....

-TE Tony Moeaki and FB Tervaris Johnson were in the rehab zone, as they have been throughout camp.

-C Casey Wiegmann made an appearance on the field today. No, not practicing because he can't do that until Aug. 4 but he was watching the offensive linemen practice. He walked onto the field with GM Scott Pioli, shook hands and gave a quick hug to Romeo Crennel then starting watching the big uglies work out.

-Romeo Crennel's interaction with the defensive linemen is really entertaining. "Protect those knees! Get down and protect them!" He's yelling encouragement for about 10 consecutive minutes and just doesn't stop.

-Your punt returners today were CB Javier Arenas, WR/RB Dexter McCluster and WR Jerheme Urban. 

-K Ryan Succop looked solid with several kicks under 50 yards. He was kicking them through the uprights and into a crowd of kids who were playing the ultimate game of 500 trying to catch the ball. 

-I noticed a few nice catches from McCluster coming out of the backfield. QB Matt Cassel hit him on a deep pass down the right side of the field. There wasn't any coverage on the play but McCluster caught it over his shoulder about 35 yards down the field. He had another one from Cassel in traffic across the middle that required some concentration. His best, though, came on a pass from QB Ricky Stanzi down the left sideline. McCluster had a defensive back under and over the top of him and leapt in the air to haul in the pass near the sideline.