Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 7/31

Jamaal Charles Still Can't Put Away Day Of Jovan Belcher's Murder-Suicide from KC Star

But the spirit of revival in Charles is about something much more profound and poignant and painful than mere football, something he brought up himself when asked about the importance of regime change and the launching of a new era after the 2-14 debacle that was only a sliver of the misery of 2012.

"I mean, last season was a hard season personally for me, having somebody pass away close to my family," he said, broaching the topic publicly for the first time. "And it's hard, but you have to move on.

"Things can either hurt you or make you stronger. So I pray to God every night, and he's still blessing me, and I'm still alive and everything happens for a reason."

If so, it will be an eternally elusive one in the instance of the murder-suicide committed Dec. 1 by former teammate Jovan Belcher, whose victim, Kasandra Perkins, is a first cousin to Charles' wife, Whitney.

Chiefs Defense Remains As Active As Ever from The Mothership

The players yet again welcomed the cooler-than-normal temperatures in St. Joe, especially given the speed-of-light pace of practice, led by Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. Make no mistake about it, coach Reid is taking full advantage of every second of the practice time he's allowed by the league. The plays and reps the Chiefs are completing are almost astronomical, allowing for more details to be evaluated, corrected and improved.

Today's roughly two-and-a-half our practice, which kicked off in usual fashion with team warm-ups, position and individual work, before splitting off into other drills, also included work in the two-minute drill.

Chiefs See Justin Houston As Even More Of A Defensive Weapon This Year from KC Star

The Chiefs intend to pressure the quarterback more than they did last season and Houston will be a big part of those plans. But Houston is a more versatile player than Hali and will again drop into pass coverage more than Hali.

"The thing about Justin is that he does all three phases pretty good,'' Sutton said. "He's a good run defender, he's becoming a much better pass defender and that makes him a real weapon for us on defense.

"This (defensive scheme) fits his style. He's not a one-dimensional player. That isn't all he does is rush the passer. That gives us a lot of potential, a lot of things we can do where you can use these guys (in different ways) and we're going to use him and Tamba like that.''

Chiefs' QB Coach Says Alex Smith Is 'The Best In The League' from KC Star

Smith led San Francisco to the NFC championship game in 2011 and started the first nine games of the 49ers' Super Bowl run a year ago, and Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson believes strongly in Smith.

"Ultimately, every team has to have a quarterback," Pederson said. "I think we have the best in the league."

Chiefs Spend Lots Of Time Working On Two-Minute Offense from KC Star

The Chiefs worked a great deal on their two-minute offense during their Tuesday training camp practice in St. Joseph, and there were a handful of big plays throughout. Receiver Jonathan Baldwin made one of the first big plays of the day when he hauled in a pass behind a diving Vince Agnew and juked safety Quintin Demps on his way to the end zone. He also dropped an easy throw in a walkthrough.

Tight end Travis Kelce continued to show why the Chiefs made him a third-round pick in April. Kelce made an eye-popping catch for the third straight day, hauling in a pass from quarterback Alex Smith with one hand and running over the middle for a big gain.

Chiefs' QBs Are Hands Off In Camp, But Alex Smith Still Takes A Tumble from KC Star

While waiting to meet with reporters, Smith chatted with Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, who was attending his first practice of this year's camp after recovering from an illness.

"It's awesome," Smith said of visiting with Dawson, who is also the Chiefs' radio analyst. "Ever since I've been here, it's such a great ... alumni, family ... pride in the organization, and the history of this organization. You can feel it. You can feel it within the organization, and you're out with the fans, and you can feel it. It's humbling to get to talk to him."

Quintin Demps Makes Bid To Join Chiefs' Secondary from KC Star

Demps spent three seasons in Houston before resurfacing with Reid in Kansas City last spring as a free agent, and Demps has quickly shown he could become a valuable member of the Chiefs' secondary.

"He got me when I was immature," Demps said of Reid. "Now he's got the mature Demps."

Demps filled in at strong safety on Tuesday in place of Eric Berry, who missed his second straight day of practice because of a hamstring strain, and he made a leaping interception of a Chase Daniel pass near the goal line, the kind of play the Chiefs didn't make in 2012 when they had just seven interceptions.

Don't Take Early Enthusiasm About Chiefs For Granted from KC Star

"Listen, it was good work today ... They busted their tail ... It's been tremendous work. We worked the 2-minute drill today, which is good work. ... All in all, appreciate the effort by the guys. They're working."

If it seems like that's to be assumed, Reid said otherwise.

"You don't know that. That's the unknown," he said, alluding back to the pace and progress of the offseason workouts. "When I mentioned to you about the offseason, you just don't know. And then I didn't know coming into this: Are they going to carry that same work ethic that they had, that they displayed during the offseason?

Chiefs' Charles Should Be Next RB To Shine Under Reid from FS Kansas City

Duce Staley. Brian Westbrook. LeSean McCoy.

If there's one thing coach Andy Reid's history with the Philadelphia Eagles proves, it's that he loves versatile running backs who are just as comfortable bursting around the edge for huge runs as they are setting up as wide receivers and hauling in rainbows down the seam.

That role is now in the hands of Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, arguably the most talented of any back Reid has coached.

Chiefs Waive CB Buddy Jackson from The Mothership

Jackson originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2012. He spent a portion of training camp with the Colts and then joined the Washington Redskins practice squad for the final seven weeks of the 2012 season.

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Live! Previewing Inside Linebackers

KCChiefs.com Video: Alex Smith Sees Improvement In The Offense

KCChiefs.com Video: Behind The Scenes At Practice With GoPro

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Chiefs Camp: Day Five Favorite Photos

Chiefs Observation: Who Catches The Ball, Aside From RBs, Bowe? from CBS Sports

You cannot overstate how big a role the backs have in this offense. Jamaal Charles has been chronically under-used at times in the past and this staff knows it. Dexter McCluster a hybrid running back/receiver, also has an explosive skill set, and given the limitations of some other areas of the roster (tight end could be suspect as well), I wouldn't be shocked at all for Reid to even find ways to get Charles and McCluster on the field at the same time, perhaps even both flexed out.

It's obvious Reid sees a lot of Brian Westbrook in Charles -- he will get plenty of touches every week, I promise you fantasy football heads -- and McCluster will get a shot, too.

AP Sports Briefs: Hunt Open To Extending Chiefs' Stay In St. Joseph from The Associated Press via The Lake News Online

Many teams have eschewed going away for camp as they build gleaming new practice digs, but Hunt said he appreciates the camaraderie that is built through players living in dorms.

Hunt said it would be possible to have camp in Kansas City, but there would be hurdles to overcome. Dining facilities are limited and there's less room for fans.

Hunt said the Chiefs will evaluate their future in St. Joseph after this year.

AFC West Fantasy Outlook from NFL Spin Zone

This will be an interesting experiment. You have a game managing quarterback in Smith paired with a pass first coach in Andy Reid. If Smith wanted an opportunity to prove he is capable of thriving in a pass heavy offense he is about to get it. Smith's fantasy outlook isn't extremely bright. Here's what we know about Smith - He attempted the fewest passes of any starting quarterback during the 2011 season. He is about to attempt the most passes in his career and probably by a wide margin. We don't know how he will react to the different offense and being the guy who is responsible for "pulling the trigger".

Culp Made An Impact In Super Bowl Victory from The Canton Repository

The Jets found a way. A year later, Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Curley Culp and the Kansas City Chiefs created their own blueprint.

Without brash guarantees, Kansas City beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in the final Super Bowl before the AFL-NFL merger. The AFL beating the NFL in a championship game was no fluke.

Culp played a big role in the Super Bowl. It eventually helped define the nose tackle position.

Trade Helped Shape Culp's Career from The Canton Repository

Stram wrote in his book "They're Playing My Game" that he sensed the Chiefs had a shot at acquiring Culp. He heard the Denver coaches were not impressed with Culp as a guard.

After biding his time, Stram called Broncos head coach Lou Saban and asked about the availability of backup offensive linemen.

Chiefs Get Physical from The Associated Press via The Mail Tribune

"I will say there a few times out there where you hold your breath," Hunt said after ducking under a tent to escape the rain, "and you hope the back or receiver pops back up."

All of them did on this day, although safety Eric Berry left with a minor hamstring injury that was unrelated to the tackling. But the physical nature of the workout nearly two weeks out from the Chiefs' first preseason game is certainly a departure from the norm in Kansas City.

Former Hawkeye Moeaki Could Have A Big Year For Chiefs from The Des Moines Register

It's easy to forget about Tony Moeaki's success last season.

The Kansas City Chiefs were tumbling toward a 2-14 finish, and most fans just wanted to put 2012 in the rearview mirror.

But the tight end from Iowa was second on the team in receiving yards, with 453, and averaged a career-best 13.7 per catch.

Toss Up -- C.J. Spiller vs. Jamaal Charles from The Sporting News

THE CASE FOR CHARLES: Charles might be the most under-appreciated running back in the NFL. He's averaged no less than 5.3 yards per carry in a single season and averaged 5.8 yards per carry for his career. Charles was the only 1,500-yard back who didn't need 300 carries to get there. Plus, Charles gets an innovative offensive coach in Andy Reid. Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy all emerged as fantasy stars with Reid.

Hunt Family Sells Columbus Crew MLS Franchise from The Associated Press via KC Star

The Columbus Crew has announced that Precourt Sports Ventures LLC has acquired the operating rights to the Major League Soccer club from Hunt Sports Group, which has owned and run it since its inception in 1996.

Precourt is a privately held investment and management firm.