Training Camp Updates 2019

[FANATIC 852]

These days, however, Kpassagnon has become a name to watch, a player who is making good on the early scouting reports who admired his length, his agility, his physical stature. It’s easy to forget that developmental means just that—a player who requires time and investment. It takes  milliseconds to turn the corner on the field, but it can take years off the field. Kpassagnon has simply needed time.

That’s not to say that Kpass is ready to roll and impact the game like a second round pick should. The team hasn’t even played its first preseason game just yet. That said, it’s nice to see some of the following dispatches from training camp, including this quote from head coach Andy Reid.

“Tanoh is exploding off the football, which is a nice thing,” Reid said. “He can do either/or for you. You saw him on the one screen, it’s hard to get it over him – and around him because he has that wingspan. He’s a smart kid. Plays hard. Every snap that you’re going to get from Tanoh is going to be 100 miles per hour, that’s just how he rolls.”

 

[Chiefswinitall 60]

https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2019/8/3/20753113/chiefs-training-camp-notebook-defense-looking-strong-from-top-to-bottom

Copying and pasting is becoming a pain.  never works well anymore.

 

 

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The Kansas City Chiefs defense has been holding its own against the high-powered offense this training camp, and its early success hasn’t just been about the Frank Clarks and the Tyrann Mathieus.

The positive signs extend to players like rookie safety Juan Thornhill and linebackers Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson.

“I like the energy,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said when asked about the defense on Saturday. “I like the way they’re challenging right now. On both sides of the ball, we still got a ways to go, so we’ve got to keep competing against each other and getting ourselves better. Every day, I see improvement on the defensive side, and that becomes important. Because it’s new, you’re going to see some things there—some steps forward. So I appreciate that.”

Last week, wide receiver Sammy Watkins explained that this year, the defense is making the offense think a bit more. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes told the media Friday about how great the defense has been at disguising its coverages.

Running back Carlos Hyde complimented its ability to blitz on Saturday.

“The defense has been doing a good job with their blitzing,” Hyde said. “We had to make some adjustments to that because they were getting us at one point. And also their coverage. They’ve been making plays. You see some guys getting interceptions and stuff, so they’ve been making plays. That stuff will carry on to the regular season, and that s— going to come up huge because one game we going to need them interceptions.”

Thornhill provided just that on Saturday, when he tracked an apparent Patrick Mahomes miscue down in 11-on-11s for a pick.

“We got to see him play corner and safety in college,” Reid said of the 23-year-old safety. “He did a little bit of each. The one consistency was that he made plays at both spots. He’s doing that out here. Early on, he was getting his hands on the ball, but he wasn’t getting the picks. Now he’s making the picks.”

Another player who has seemed reinvigorated in Steve Spagnuolo’s new system is Hitchens, who said the Chiefs are asking to learn every linebacker position headed into the fall.

“It starts with Spags,” Hitchens said. “I’m sure you guys (the media) interviewed him a couple of times. He has a lot of energy, and it feeds off this coaching staff all the way to the players. We needed that, and I’m just glad he’s part of our defensive staff.”

Hitchens profiles as the WILL linebacker in Spagnuolo’s 4-3 base and should stay on the field as the MIKE in nickel and dime subpackages.

“Hitch brings great energy,” Reid added. “Every play every day, and he’s smart. He leads the middle of the defense right there. That’s what he does.”

Derrick Johnson vibes

 

 

Wilson played with Hitchens from 2015-17 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. Wilson, who the Chiefs like as their SAM, hits noticeably hard in thud and tackle periods and continually pokes and rips at opposing running backs.

“He and Anthony are close from being in Dallas together,” Reid said of Wilson. “He is extremely smart. He doesn’t make very many mistakes out here. He’s a very accurate player.”

Wilson stripped tight end Nick Keizer on Friday before missing practice Saturday due to a sore knee.

“That guy is out here forcing fumbles and interceptions every day,” Hitchens said. “He’s a good ballplayer. He’s going to help us win a lot of games this year, and all I could do here is just be a bigger brother and help him out in the scheme and everything.”

Hitchens explained that because of the newfound energy as a defensive unit, the players are running a bit more now. He joked that he is losing “10 pounds a day” when the Chiefs hold a padded practice.

“It’s just more energy, more running, more plays,” he said. “It’s just different... It’s 2019. Our goal is to be great and bring some energy and run to the ball, so that’s what we’re doing, and it’s going to burn a lot of calories and a lot of energy.”

The Chiefs’ efforts over the past week and the next four will, of course, lead into Week 1 away against the Jacksonville Jaguars. And while all the talk of energy is nice, grasping the new system will be of utmost importance.

Spagnuolo is thus approaching all his ambition with caution.

“It’s something that I have to make a real hard decision on,” he said this week. “I’ve been through this first year thing a number of times. Sometimes it’s gone really good and sometimes it hasn’t gone so good, so it’ll be dictated by what the guys can do. I do believe that as you approach this thing, you better make sure they’re not thinking and they’re playing, if that makes any sense. I’m hoping that we got the kind of guys that can handle multiple defensive packages and still play fast, but we’ll see.”

“It’s a lot of challenges, but at the end of the day we got to get it done,” Hitchens added. “If we want to win, we’ve got to get it done. There’s other teams in the league that are going through the same thing.

“No one’s going to feel sorry for us on Week 1, so we got to find a way to get it done, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Observations (via defensive film analyst Craig Stout, who attended practice)

• Defensive line coach Brendan Daly wastes zero time in camp. He’s always looking to get a little extra work in off to the side and makes sure every single player gets each rep correct. He’s very hands-on with the position group and very vocal with criticism and praise alike. It’s refreshing to see this year.
• Frank Clark has also adopted this mindset, regularly pulling others in his position group aside to teach technique. Alex Okafor was asking Clark for help on a pull/rip move, and that prompted rookie Khalen Saunders to come over and ask for help as well. Clark was happy to oblige, and he’s already showing his presence as a leader.
• On the field, the defense won the day. Okafor, Clark, and Juan Thornhill all looked particularly great. Clark and Okafor racked up several would-be sacks in the team portion of practice, and both set the edge well in the run game. Thornhill had a great pass break-up in the back of the end zone on Mecole Hardman as well as an interception off of Patrick Mahomes.
• Speaking of defense, the linebackers had another good day stuffing the run. With Damien Wilson out, Reggie Ragland moved to the base SAM linebacker and Ben Niemann came in as the MIKE linebacker. Ragland and Anthony Hitchens are playing faster and getting downhill quickly. Ragland even had an interception off of Mahomes in team drills.
• Nick Allegretti continued to get looks with the second-team offensive line today, this time at right guard. He’s seeing plenty of time at multiple spots and holding his own.
• For the second day in a row, Carlos Hyde and Travis Kelce had multiple drops. Kelce improved as the day went along, but on a day in which the defense had their number, those drops were a little bit deflating.

Injury report

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman and defensive lineman Xavier Williams returned to the field after missing time on Friday. Linebacker Damien Wilson missed practice due to a sore knee. Check out our full injury report here.

Tweets of note

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote of the day

Carlos Hyde on how he feels about his offensive teammates: “Everybody comes out every day to compete. The receivers, they bust they ass, the running backs bust they ass, the tight ends. Everybody’s working. It’s not just one guy, which is good. The whole offense out here working together, coming out here every day, competing and trying to get better, so the whole offense has been standing out to me.”

What’s next?

The Chiefs resume practice Sunday in St. Joseph at 8:15 a.m. Arrowhead Time. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will speak to the media and the full team will sign autographs after practice. The next scheduled day off for the Chiefs is Tuesday.

 

 

 

[FANATIC 852]

Dont suppose this could go under the training camp update thread?

[jetlord 10,209]

21 minutes ago, Chiefswinitall said:

 

Spagnuolo is thus approaching all his ambition with caution.

  I do believe that as you approach this thing, you better make sure they’re not thinking and they’re playing, if that makes any sense. 

There is the biggest difference from last season. 

[reesebobby 5,662]

I have a good feeling about this defense. 

[FANATIC 852]

• The Chiefs held live tackling periods on Sunday, allowing the offensive/defensive line and running backs to get some true work in. With Damien Williams out, Carlos Hyde and Darrel Williams garnered most of the top-team reps. Hyde is doing a nice job in the absence of Damien, but Darrel looks more explosive to me. Rookie Darwin Thompson, who is faster than both Hyde and Williams, predominantly takes his reps with Chad Henne and the second team.
• Over the past two days, it is beginning to become obvious why the Chiefs needed to trade up to select wide receiver Mecole Hardman in the second round of the NFL Draft. Hardman shows blazing speed, a knack for getting behind the Chiefs defenders and an early rapport with Patrick Mahomes. Hardman should press Demarcus Robinson for the day-one WR3 position, and if not Week 1, I’d expect him to have it by midseason.
• Hardman is tough as nails. The Chiefs ran a jet sweep and it looked like the rookie collided with two Chiefs defenders. Hardman stayed down for about two minutes and walked off the field slowly with trainers. Rather than going to the injury tent, Hardman ran off the lower-body injury and had his helmet back on shortly thereafter. At a time in camp when Chiefs are dropping like flies, Hardman earned a bit of respect from his teammates.
• Behind the top four receivers, critical special-teamer Marcus Kemp flashed at his WR position on Sunday. Bieniemy on Kemp: “Marcus Kemp is just one of those Steady Eddie guys. He understands his role. He’s one of those guys that young players and young kids should gravitate to. He doesn’t take anything for granted, he understands his role. He’s fought and scratched from the bottom of the roster, earned a spot on our team as a practice squad, has developed a reputation for being a heck of a special teams player. And when he gets called upon, when guys get pulled from practice, he just jumps in and finds a way to make plays. That’s the type of people we want in our organization.”
• After the starting offensive line, which is set, it looks to me like Cam Erving will be the swing tackle, Jimmy Murray will be the backup center, and Kahlil McKenzie and Nick Allegrettiwill mix in at the guard positions.
• The Chiefs like John Lovett. I noticed Bieniemy harping on him during pass protection drills. Dave Toub already mentioned that he likes Lovett on special teams. If he can show some progression as a blocker, he should make the Chiefs on roster cutdown day. Let’s be clear on one thing: I think Kansas City sees Lovett as an offensive weapon, not a TE2. The final cutdown will likely included Travis Kelce, Lovett, who is listed as a tight end, and an addition tight end—right now I have Blake Bell over Deon Yelder in that spot.
• Wide receiver Jody Fortson had a noticeably nice day, and it was not the first I’ve noticed out of him. Fortson is making a strong case for being included on the Chiefs’ initial practice squad.
• The defensive standouts on Sunday were Reggie Ragland, who made a few great plays in coverage, Frank Clark, who continues to dominate offensive linemen and Armani Watts, who grabbed an interception off of Chad Henne in 11-on-11s. Watts also had a pass breakup against Kelce. These are good signs for Watts, who is behind Tyrann Mathieu, Daniel Sorensen and Juan Thornhill.
• Tanoh Kpassagnon came in as the top left defensive end when defensive linemen Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah left practice within minutes of each other. The emergence of Kpassagnon as a key defensive contributor remains one of the most significant surprises of Chiefs camp. I noticed Kpassagnon working on pass-rush moves closely with defensive line coach Brendan Daly during O-line vs. D-line drills. Kpassagnon and Breeland Speaks have always been linked together as back-to-back second-round picks—in my opinion, Kpassgnon has eclipsed Speaks in the eyes of the Chiefs.

[FANATIC 852]

Looks like KC has some real depth at most positions. Very Exciting.

[oldtimer 8,686]

well looks like I f'd that  merge up..oh well  carry on lol

[Chiefswinitall 60]

sorry my fault.   you can correct it.   believe in yourself!

[xen 1,010,220]

I fixed the title.  It's all good.  Thanks for posting fellas.

[xen 1,010,220]

 

[xen 1,010,220]

 

[xen 1,010,220]

 

[xen 1,010,220]

 

[xen 1,010,220]

First unofficial depth chart is out:

[jetlord 10,209]

Haven't read much about DOD this camp.  Is he behind both Lee and Niemann?  Also thought Allegritti would be backing up Reiter.

So far this has been the most interesting camp in a long time  While most of the starters seem set, the competition for #2 or even roster spots is better than ever.  Lucas/Watts, Pringle/Kemp/Deiter,  Ogbah/Speaks, Lovette/???, T. Smith/???.  When will Thornhill replace Sorenson?   First time in many seasons that I'll be interested in the preseason games and how the second half players perform.    

[liquidfriend 1,151]

22 hours ago, Mloe68 said:

We had the worst safeties and corners in the NFL last year. Decent chance Veach fixed the safety issue but corner will have to wait til next year to fix in earnest.  But he’s gotta band aid it better somehow. And that means realistically a trade. 

Yeah still in a wait and see approach.  Still early.

[Chiefmanzada 466]

Mahomes is pure money on all Dem throws..

Chiefs baby 🏹

[liquidfriend 1,151]

Mahomes is definitely different this year.  He's a lot more confident and I don't think there's much a Defense can show that he hasn't already seen.

 

One thing I seem to have missed is that there are reports that Speaks is actually doing work inside at tackle and has shown flashes.  Hopefully they keep him there.  Think that's his best spot to flourish.

[Mloe68 1,521]

2 hours ago, xen said:

First unofficial depth chart is out:

Custis hasn’t done anything. How’s he the 5th WR?

[Mloe68 1,521]

1 hour ago, jetlord said:

Haven't read much about DOD this camp.  Is he behind both Lee and Niemann?  Also thought Allegritti would be backing up Reiter.

So far this has been the most interesting camp in a long time  While most of the starters seem set, the competition for #2 or even roster spots is better than ever.  Lucas/Watts, Pringle/Kemp/Deiter,  Ogbah/Speaks, Lovette/???, T. Smith/???.  When will Thornhill replace Sorenson?   First time in many seasons that I'll be interested in the preseason games and how the second half players perform.    

Jimmy Murray is another one of those guys who was basically on the redshirt program last year. He had two appearances but for the most part he was on the active roster all year because they didn’t want to lose him. Between him, McKenzie and Allgretti we’ve got some interesting developmental guys. Would be nice to see one take a big step forward though.  

The battle for those 5-6 WR spots is compelling for sure.  Some interesting guys like Lovett trying to win a spot.  Unbelievable depth on the Dline.  And can any corner look good?  I’m actually pretty interested in Saturday. 

[Calichief 3,016]

Curious about DOD

[sith13 1,746]

Hopefully the reports on Kpass are true rather than being way too optimistic. With that size he could be a beast if he works out. 

[Handswarmer 645]

On 8/2/2019 at 4:46 PM, Mloe68 said:

I won't disagree with the CB assessment. But nobody is covering any of WRs one on one without safety help downfield once the MVP gets out of the pocket. Its simply not fair. 

True- but stay with your man

[Handswarmer 645]

On 8/2/2019 at 10:01 PM, DieHard said:

Wether the secondary sucks or not. (It kind of does) On that play Pat threw a pump fake to one side of the field and scrambled out (with out pressure, just playing) throwing on the run 60 yards without setting his feet and hit the WR in stride. That is not awesome by Mecole or terrible by the secondary. That was just magic by Pat. Just saying.

Stay with your man

On 8/2/2019 at 11:27 PM, xen said:

Yep.  Tell me what offense we're playing this year that's better than what our D will see in practice.

= to Rams, Pats

Not better