Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 8/16

Five Observations from Monday's Practice from Chiefs.com

After having the day off on Sunday following Saturday's game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Kansas City Chiefs returned to the campus of Missouri Western State University for practice on Monday morning.

It was the first of four practices this week, which are the last opportunity for fans to see this team up close and personal as the Chiefs will officially break camp on Thursday afternoon.

For more information on the last few days of camp, check out Chiefs.com/TrainingCamp.

Here are five observations from Monday morning's practice:

What We Learned From Monday's Media Availability from Chiefs.com

HEAD COACH ANDY REID

OPENING STATEMENT: "Rick covered the injuries outside of the guys that have been out. Zombo is out for personal reasons -- his wife had a little baby boy so he is there. Congratulations to Jeff Henderson for winning a gold medal in the long jump at Rio. He was with us during the offseason and we're proud of him for bringing home the gold. 

"We had a good practice today. The guys pushed themselves through and that's tough to do after a game. They did well and had a good frame of mind to get some things accomplished that we needed to. As far as the game goes, I thought the ones and the twos did a pretty good job. The threes and the fours, we need to do a better job there. We had too many penalties and shot ourselves in the foot. We had an interception as well. It's not always the quarterback, but the relationship between the quarterback, the receiver and their relationship as those two work it out. It'll be a good picture for them to learn from. The offsides and the penalties, you can't have those. It's good for these good guys to learn that. They get to see firsthand that when you do that in the National Football League, it costs you games."

Tyler Bray and Charcandrick West Don't Practice; Head Athletic Trainer Explains from Chiefs.com

There were a couple new injuries announced after Chiefs practice Monday afternoon.

In addition to Jamaal Charles, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, all who have yet to practice this training camp, Tyler Bray, Josh Mauga, Charcandrick West and Frank Zombo were held out as well.

Mauga continues to work back from a groin strain he suffered earlier this camp and Zombo was out due to the birth of a child.

Chiefs head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder came to the podium with updates on Bray and West:

Former Chiefs Tryout Brings Home Gold Medal in Olympics from Chiefs.com

Back in May, the Kansas City Chiefs held their three-day rookie minicamp.

67 NFL hopefuls attempted to impress the Chiefs coaching staff enough to ultimately receive a roster invite.

One of those hopefuls happens to now be an Olympic gold medalist.

Jeff Henderson, a track standout out of Stillman College, took home gold this week at the 2016 Rio Olympics, placing first in the men's long jump.

Chiefs Charity Game Raised $1.47 Million Over the Past Two Years from Chiefs.com

Last year, The Children's Place set a record for funds raised with $736,000. This year, when the Chiefs hosted the Seattle Seahawks, The Children's Place broke that record by raising $740,000. The two years combined equate to a total of $1.47 million. Those fundraising efforts were in large part due to the leadership of honorary chair and Sprint CFO Tarek Robbiati, as well as event chairs Patty and Don Kincaid.

According to it's website, the mission of The Children's Place is to nurture and promote the healthy development of young children who have survived abuse, neglect and trauma by providing specialized services and family support, within a safe and caring environment.

Chiefs training camp report, Aug. 15: Aaron Murray slings it while Justin March and others rise on depth chart from The Kansas City Star

Speaking of 7-on-7, here are some observations from that period: tight end Demetrius Harris, who impressed with his blocking Saturday, had a tough drop on a pass from quarterback Alex Smith. Harris has had a few too many of those in camp but should be fine, provided he continues to block well. Tight end Brian Parker failed to haul in a pass from Foles that deflected off his body and was intercepted by safety Jeron Johnson.

Chiefs QB Aaron Murray is delivering the ball with flair again from The Kansas City Star

When Chiefs quarterback Aaron Murray is feeling good about himself — when he's in a rhythm and throwing with both velocity and touch — it's not hard to tell. All you have to do is pay attention to the way he delivers the ball.

That's right. When Murray is feeling it — really feeling it — he tends to flick his wrist on his follow through and keep it there, extended, for a split-second as the ball travels through the air. It's a Steve Young-ish flourish his teammates absolutely love to tease him about.

"I get made fun of a little bit in the QB room — they tell me to stop posing so much," Murray said with a laugh.

Chiefs' QB depth chart altered by Tyler Bray's injury from ESPN

Bray was bumped down a notch on the quarterback depth chart when the Chiefs signed Nick Foles and was running with the third team.

Aaron Murray moved up to the third team in Bray's absence at Monday's practice. He took advantage of the extra opportunities by having a strong practice. Among his on-target throws was a back-shoulder pass that tight endRoss Travis caught for a touchdown.

Chiefs QB Tyler Bray suffers neck injury from Chiefs Digest

Bray suffered the injury on a hit near the end of the first half, according to the team's head athletic trainer Rex Burkholder.

"He's got a very small chip fracture in his cervical spine, in the body of the spine, which is away from the spinal cord," Burkholder said. "It sounds much worse than it is. We're treating it as a sprain because it's just like that."

Burkholder said once his symptoms go away, he believes Bray will be able to return. He said Bray has a stiff neck.

Gold-medal winning long jumper had a Chiefs tryout in May from The Kansas City Star

Before taking questions from reporters after practice Monday, Chiefs coach Andy Reid gave Henderson a shout out.

"We're proud of him for bringing home the gold," Reid said.

Reid said he remembered a speedy receiver who was a bit distracted at camp.

"I think he probably had his mind set on going to get the gold," Reid said. "He worked his tail off here, but (track) was probably his primary focus."

Olympic long jump gold medalist played for Chiefs for three days from ESPN

The Chiefs are, for now, set at wide receiver with 13 of them at training camp. That's not to say the Chiefs wouldn't give him another look sometime down the line, if Henderson decides to make a stronger effort at football now that he's won the gold medal.

"He was trying to do two jobs,'' Reid said. "If he decided he wanted to go all football now, I think it would probably help him in just catching the football.''

Offensive snap-count observations: Tyreek Hill gets reps with Chiefs' first team from The Kansas City Star

Quarterback

Kevin Hogan — 18 (26 percent)

Aaron Murray — 15 (22 percent)

Tyler Bray — 14 (21 percent)

Nick Foles — 12 (18 percent)

Alex Smith — 9 (13 percent)

Analysis: Chiefs coach Andy Reid did a nice job splitting up the snaps among his quarterbacks. The Chiefs took Smith out after the first series to preserve him. Foles took the reps, then Bray. Murray and Hogan split up the second half.

Other backs will cut into Jamaal Charles' fantasy production from ESPN

One reason Charles has been so productive from a fantasy perspective is that the Chiefs haven't had another back they've felt comfortable with. Knile Davis was the primary backup in 2013 and 2014, but his fumbling problems and deficiencies in the passing game led the Chiefs to lean heavily on Charles. The Chiefs feel differently about Ware and West, so depending on injuries and the productiveness of all three players, the fantasy load could be more evenly split than it has been when Charles has been in the lineup.

Chiefs first-rounder Jones not intimidated in preseason debut fromThe Associated Press via FS Kansas City

"It was pretty exciting, man," Jones said. "Just to be in the atmosphere, everybody hollering and, my first NFL game. It was an amazing, amazing feeling."

Arrowhead Stadium can be intimidating for many veteran players, let alone rookies.

"I wasn't intimidated or a little bit of nervous at all," Jones said. "I was more excited than anything. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was just excited to be out there on the field. I was excited to hit someone else instead of my teammates."

Final Week For Chiefs Training Camp Brings Attendance Down from St Joe Channel

The Kansas City Chiefs may still be in town but businesses aren't feeling quite the boost as much as years past.

"I don't think camp has been as busy this year than it's been and what hurt camp early on was the amount of rain because when it rained, they moved the practices indoors and the fans can't watch." said Jay Binkley, 610 Sports Radio host.

Although some say that the weather has affected fan turnout, others say construction on Mitchell Ave. has caused a big headache.

"The city hasn't done any favors by closing Mitchell during Training Camp." said Dwayne Leer, Uncle D's Bar and Grill owner.

Fans unhappy with Chiefs new tailgating policies from KMBC

The Kansas City Chiefs held their first preseason game over the weekend, but fans left the game talking less about what happened on the field as what happened in the parking lot.

Fans returned for their typical pregame tailgate parties but found that new parking lot policies have meant changes.

Crews clear scene at Arrowhead Stadium after investigating suspicious device from KMBC

Police said they wanted to check the device out but didn't think it was dangerous.

After several hours, investigators cleared the scene. They have not said what the object was.

Rams QB Case Keenum, who'll start against Chiefs, thrives in his spot atop depth chart from The Los Angeles Times

If not for a dropped pass by receiver Tavon Austin, Keenum would have completed all seven of his passes in the 28-24 victory over the Cowboys that served as the pro debut for rookie Jared Goff and a coming-out of sorts for second-year pro Sean Mannion.

Goff practiced Monday and showed no ill effects of the shoulder soreness that Coach Jeff Fisher said caused him to limit Goff to two series against the Cowboys. Fisher said Sunday that Goff would "quite likely" take some first-team snaps against the Chiefs.

Rams' run defense must improve vs. Chiefs from ESPN

NFL head coaches generally don't like to get too critical about their own team, particularly after one preseason game.

Still, the truth has a way of coming out, emerging through blunt assessments and candid comments.

Even though the Los Angeles Rams rallied to defeat the Cowboys 28-24 Saturday in their first preseason game of the summer, not too much went right for the Rams in the first half when the starters were out there.

Week 1 preseason grades: Paxton Lynch among top AFC rookies from NFL.com

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: Chris Jones, defensive end. The Chiefs' second-round pick certainly looks like a dominant defender based on his spectacular debut performance against the Seahawks on Saturday. Jones overwhelmed blockers with his combination of size and strength on the way to notching two tackles and a couple of QB hurries. In addition, he played a part in stopping a fourth-down running play that ended a Seattle drive. Considering Jones' impact against the Seahawks' reserves, it's only a matter of time before the rookie works his way into the starting rotation. GRADE: B+

32 pictures that sum up what to expect from every NFL team in 2016 from FOX Sports

Kansas City Chiefs

No one wants to be a "game manager." Short of being a bust or a bum, it's one of the worst labels you can give a quarterback. It's also the perfect description for Alex Smith. That was just enough to get the Chiefs to the postseason last year; in 2016, there's no way Smith leads his team to 11 straight victories once again. Look at the face Smith's making in this picture. That's the face Chiefs fans will make by the middle of the season when they realize they still have eight weeks left of watching Smith.