Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 5/22

Good morning! Thanks to OTAs, we have a full morning of Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy!

Football returned to the Truman Sports Complex Monday morning with the first OTA session of the Romeo Crennel era.

Crennel's first on-field practice as Chiefs head coach lasted approximately 90 minutes and included several periods of competitive work matching the offense against the defense.

OTA Notebook: Opening Day from The Mothership

Even if the Chiefs finish the 2012 season in the Super Bowl, they won't necessarily recall Monday as the day it all began. They held their first full-squad offseason practice, sure, but it was more of a get-to-know-you kind of affair.

They worked for about an hour and a half but, since they couldn't wear full pads, they did so without contact. Still, that's more than they've done in the offseason for two years - last year's offseason was disrupted by the lockout - so they were grateful for any work they could get.

Chiefs Get Together For First Full-Squad Offseason Practice from KC Star

KC Star Photo Gallery: Kansas City Chiefs Begin OTAs Monday

Berry and Lewis are expected to be ready by training camp and Menzie is likely to find his way into the rotation at some point during OTAs.

With no clear-cut option serving as the team's third safety, the door is open for a number of young reserves to stake their claim while working with the first-team defense.

Parks was the first to get the call, fresh out of rookie minicamp.

Safety Is A Position Of Opportunity During Chiefs OTA from The Mothership

Some quick observations from today's Chiefs practice, the first full-squad practice of the year:

1. The Chiefs have yet to put their top draft pick, nose tackle Dontari Poe, with the starters. Veteran Amon Gordon was the starter at nose tackle.

Five Observations From Today's Chiefs Practice from KC Star

Running back Peyton Hillis on what offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, his former coach in Cleveland, brings to the Chiefs and his smooth transition to a similar offense:

"It was good coming in and already knowing the playbook. When you know what you're doing, you're faster when you do it. He (Daboll) knows how to create mismatches for me out of the backfield, and then at the receiver spot. He's really good with the quarterbacks too. It's been pretty laid back for me, just helping the guys get to know the playbook and get things going. It's good for me, and it's good for the other teammates in the room with me because I can help them out."

Overheard: Day One Of OTAs from The Mothership

When the whistle blew, Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry headed off to the corner of the far practice field while the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs began a full-squad practice.

In many ways it looked like last season, when the speedy running back and playmaking safety were recovering from torn knee ligaments. The difference this time was that Charles and Berry were dressed in shorts and jerseys and appeared on the cusp of returning.

That alone made the first in a series of organized team activities a success.

Chiefs Get On Field For Offseason Workouts from The Associated Press via Sports Illustrated

The Kansas City Chiefs began their Organized Team Activities (OTA's) on Monday afternoon with 86 of the 87 players under contract in attendance. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was the missing 87th player because of his continued contract holdout. First round draft pick, Dontari Poe, has not signed his contract yet. Unlike Bowe, however, Poe attended the session and worked out.

KC Chiefs Begin OTAs With Bowe Missing And Poe In Attendance from Examiner.com

OC Brian Daboll was pushing his offense to move quickly through Monday's OTA, getting huddled and lined up at the line of scrimmage at a much faster pace than the Chiefs did last year.

OC Daboll Wants Offense Moving At A Faster Pace from CBS Sports

The crumbling skeletons of uprooted homes and businesses had lined what remained of Main St. Overturned cars and scattered debris littered the sidewalks as far as Cassel could see. And as one of the three buses carrying Chiefs volunteers drove past it all, the quarterback smelled the lingering odor of gasoline hanging over the tornado-ravaged Missouri town.

"I grew up in Southern California, so our natural disasters were earthquakes, but (with earthquakes) everything stays in the same place," said Cassel. "I've never been around tornadoes. It was a crazy experience for me."

Chiefs Players Remember Joplin One Year Later, Plan Return Trip from The Mothership

Ever since the Kansas City Chiefs had their brief flirtation with Quarterback, Peyton Manning in March, fans began to throw in the towel on Matt Cassel. Local Sports talk radio began to bolster it's ratings by offering their opinions on Cassel and why they told the Chiefs nation he was the missing link to the Chiefs finding success in 2012.

But honestly, the radio hosts that keep throwing wood on that fire and the fan base that won't let the smoke smolder - need to give the 2010 AFC West Champion quarterback a little slack.

Cassel At The Helm from Warpaint Illustrated

Q: Position-coach-wise, you're working with one of the all-time greats in Emmitt Thomas. How has that been?

ROUTT: "It's great. Emmitt Thomas, being a Hall of Famer, and you've got Otis (Smith) over there, a Super Bowl champion. It's definitely good. The best thing for me is I had Hall of Fame coaches back in Oakland with Rod (Woodson) and Willie Brown and all those guys. It's a smooth transition over for me. But Emmitt Thomas has been real good and so has Otis (Smith), so I think the sky's the limit here."

Chiefs Locker Room Quotes From Day 1 Of OTAs from WIBW.com

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has become the center of some controversy in Kansas City, given a disappointing performance from the team and Cassel personally in 2011 - and in light of an acknowledged effort by the team to sign Peyton Manning during the offseason. Instead, Cassel must fend off Brady Quinn, who already knows the new offense given his time in Cleveland, along with up-and-comer Ricky Stanzi, who could indeed be the team's quarterback of the future.

But Cassel isn't ready to concede anything.

Cassel Believes In Himself, Calls OTA Process "Pivotal" from ProFootballTalk

Well, a disagreement has broken out, anyway. Between two sports writers. One (Mike Wise of the Washington Post) is against Baltimore Orioles fans shouting "O" during the national anthem to show team pride. The other (Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun) defends the practice.

Baltimore's Tradition Of Fans Shouting 'O!' During National Anthem Sparks Interleague Feud from Yahoo! Sports

Clark will likely help replace Kellen Winslow, who told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday that the Buccaneers are trying to trade him, shortly before he was shipped to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for an undisclosed 2013 draft pick...

...Additionally, the Kansas City Chiefs had interest in Clark, according to a report by the Kansas City Star on May 2.

Dallas Clark Signs One-Year Deal With Buccaneers from NFL.com