Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 5/12

Good morning! Here is your Kansas City Chiefs news. Of note to me is the fact rookies has arrowheads on their helmets. Enjoy.

For Poe, it was just the start of what promises to be a long process to become an accomplished player.

"I learned a lot on the first day," Poe said. "More than I thought I would. But it's all a process, so I'm doing the best I can day by day.

"I'm trying to learn everything I can. There's a big mental part to this game, and the learning curve in the NFL is pretty big. You really don't do too much of this kind of technique in college. I'm just trying to come in here and learn the mental part of it as much as I can now. The physical part will come to me."

Poe In Rookie Camp, But It's Too Early For Tell-Tale Signs from KC Star

The first big play of minicamp was turned in by Dominique Ellis, a tryout safety from South Carolina State. Ellis picked off a high pass intended for Brandon Kinnie that was deflected into the air. Fifth-round draft pick DeQuan Menzie had underneath coverage on the route.

Rookie Minicamp Notebook: Poe Makes Chiefs Debut from The Mothership

KC Star Video: Chiefs Brandon Flowers On Former Teammate Brandon Carr

KC Star Video: Chiefs First-Round Draft Pick Dontari Poe At Rookie Camp

KCChiefs.com Video: Romeo Crennel Meets With The Media

Of the tryout players, the most notable include former University of Missouri TE Martin Rucker and four-year NFL veteran LB Leon Williams. Both Rucker and Williams were selected as fourth-round picks by Cleveland when Romeo Crennel served as the Browns head coach.

Rucker was drafted 111^thoverall in 2008 and Williams was selected 110^th overall out of Miami (FL) in 2006.

Martin Rucker Among 10 Tryout Players At Chiefs Rookie Minicamp from The Mothership

Cleveland, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Jacksonville and, hopefully, Kansas City.

Martin Rucker has bounced around plenty of places in a short NFL career. It will be six teams in five seasons if he earns a contract with the Chiefs following this weekend's minicamp tryout.

Rucker Hopes KC Is His Final Stop from The Mothership

The Chiefs signed half of their eight draft picks on Friday as they began their three-day rookie camp.

Under contract are fourth-round wide receiver Devon Wylie of Fresno State, sixth-round running back Cyrus Gray of Texas A&M and both seventh-round picks: San Diego State defensive lineman Jerome Long and Michigan wide receiver Junior Hemingway.

Chiefs Notebook: Team Signs Four Draft Picks from KC Star

As a result of the annual "Kansas City Oral Health Care Day," TeamSmile and the Chiefs provide these dental health screenings and procedures, the value of which annually reaches the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for local under-served youth. Hundreds of children participate each year at Arrowhead Stadium thanks to the generosity of the Chiefs and TeamSmile. As a result of this program's success, TeamSmile's efforts now stretch beyond the Midwest.

The Chiefs And Teamsmile from The Mothership

It finally hit Dontari Poe that he's playing in the NFL when walked into the locker room at the Kansas City Chiefs' practice facility.

There were the helmets. Bright red with that arrowhead logo on the side, as shiny as a child's new ball.

"It was like, `Yeah, I'm here now,''' Poe said Friday.

Now it's time to prove he belongs.

Poe Front And Center As KC Rookies Report from The Associated Press via Sports Illustrated

Crennel pointed out, too, that they are improvising on certain matters because they didn't get as many undrafted free agents as they wanted. And "rather than get guys off the street, we went for guys we had good grades on," he said, adding that coaches have been filling in at linebacker because "we only have two linebackers and we're a four-linebacker defense..."

...He added that there are roster spots open so that they can have some flexibility in the future.

Kansas City Chiefs' Crennel Says He'd Rather Have Veterans from NFL.com

The Benton High School product agreed to a tryout with the Kansas City Chiefs, a team he spent significant time following during his childhood in St. Joseph. Rucker donned the red and white for the first time Friday during a practice session at the Chiefs facility, the first half of a two-day audition for a roster spot with a fifth team in five years.

"This one is definitely special," said Rucker, who wore No. 44 for the 1 1/2-hour outdoor workout that included 38 players - mostly Chiefs draft picks and undrafted rookie free agents.

Rucker Hopes To Catch On With Chiefs from News-Press Now

There isn't a scale made that could measure how badly fans want Kansas City in a Super Bowl. Every team does, but Chiefs fans have been faithful, watching good teams fall short.

When Charles speaks, he's honest. Charles has an unselfish attitude but best of all, Charles has taken the leadership position. Vince Lombardi said leaders aren't born, they're made. Charles' experience last season watching from the bench turned him into a leader.

Brown: Chiefs Might Have What It Takes For Special Season from The Examiner

None of today's DPDs are as credentialed as she is. Kansas City Chiefs director of player development Katie Douglass, who holds a Master's of Education in counseling/sports psychology, is one of the few who comes close in a field dominated by ex-jocks, who bring to the position an innate understanding of locker room culture and implicit trust from players. That's one of the reasons the league is fine-tuning a certification program, "that teaches what we think are the core skills needed," says Adolpho Birch, an NFL senior vice president who oversees the Engagement division.

League Focusing On Mental Health, But Players Must Buy In from Sports Illustrated

Ernie Ladd played out his option in 1965, and then signed a three-year contract with the Houston Oilers. He played all of 1966 for the Oilers, and four games into the 1967 season before he was traded to Kansas City, where he joined college teammate, Buck Buchanan, on the Chiefs defensive line. Ladd stayed with Kansas City for the remainder of 1967, and all of 1968 before retiring from professional football.

Ernie Ladd - A Giant In Any Era from NFL Gridiron Gab