***The Official Chiefs OTA's Thread***

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Might as well get this started since we are within a week of it beginning.


OTA offseason workouts: May 27-29, June 3-5, June 10-13
Mandatory minicamp: June 17-19


Feel free to post Chiefs camp updates here.

https://twitter.com/ChiefsCamp/lists/kcc

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by planetdoc

Sounds like Murray completed a lot of passes.....to the defense!

Ford and Gaines are going to be studs.

Lmao....off of OTAs?

[Mr_Tomahawk]

No updates? Do I have to do everything!


You guys suck.

[Tribal Warfare]

Chiefs rookies get physical in the trenches at minicamp
By TEREZ A. PAYLOR
The Kansas City Star

For the standard observer, it’s safe to say there’s not much that can be gleaned from a non-padded rookie minicamp practice.

But that’s not the case for the Chiefs’ coaches and front-officer officials. For them, the three-day rookie minicamp — which concludes Monday — is a a chance for them to see, up close and personal, how the players they selected this year move around, respond to coaching and absorb concepts.

And for the players, such as sixth-round pick Zach Fulton, it’s a chance to get adjusted to a few challenges, despite the fact they aren’t wearing pads.

“It is pretty physical, despite popular belief,” said Fulton, a guard from Tennessee. “It does get pretty physical down in the trenches. I’m still working on my hand placement and my footwork and things like that. It’s the fundamentals.”

But that’s now all Fulton, who is listed at 6 feet 5 and 316 pounds, is working on. Now that the Chiefs’ strength and conditioning coaches have gotten their hands on all the rookies, they attack their weight-room weaknesses in hopes of building up their bodies.

“We’ve lifted for about two weeks now since we’ve been here, I think it’s helping out a lot,” Fulton said, who has spent both days of the minicamp at right guard “They want me to be more flexible, that’s what they want … it will help me move a lot better, move a lot faster.”

That makes sense. Fulton didn’t finish among the top combine testers in the 20-yard shuttle or three-cone drill, which help measure a player’s agility. Athleticism is a necessary trait for a lineman in Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s offense, due to the heavy reliance on zone blocking, but the club drafted him anyway because they liked his physical style.

“He’s more of a road grader,” said area scout Pat Sperduto. “(Tennessee) had four different offenses while he was up there and a couple head coaches, so he had gone through a lot of change and he adjusted and adapted to all the different styles that they had … his style is roll off the ball and move people and that’s kind of his gig. He does a great job of setting a pocket presence for the quarterback. He is strong and can squat down and hold the rush out.”

Now the goal is to make him better, and Fulton isn’t the only rookie looking to do that. Third-round cornerback Phillip Gaines said he weighed in at 183 pounds when he arrived in Kansas City, which is 10 pounds less than he weighed at the combine in February.

“I honestly don’t know how big I can get, but I’m sure once I start eating right and lifting right, I could definitely get to the 190s consistently,” Gaines said.

Gaines is optimistic the extra weight, whenever it comes, will help him with his press-man technique, which the Chiefs’ corners use regularly.

“That way they can’t move you off your place,” Gaines said. “Once you get that and the technique and the strength, all of that bundles into one and you get a good corner.”

Sixth-round pick Laurent Duvernay-Tardif said he weighed in at 307 pounds when he arrived in Kansas City, though he is listed at 321 pounds. After the draft, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said he could easily see Duvernay-Tardif end up between 325 and 330 pounds, and Duvernay-Tardif’s lean frame — he doesn’t have much of gut — belies this.

“Over the last couple months with the combine and everything I was trying to get a bit leaner, but I think I can put a couple pounds on easily,” Duvernay-Tardif said. “If coach wants me at 315 I will go at 315, 320 without any problem, I think.”

In the meantime, Duvernay-Tardif said the Chiefs’ strength coaches are emphasizing the power clean, which will help him get out of his stance in pass protection.

“Especially on (the) two-step drop, when you want to be really aggressive on the line,” Duvernay-Tardif said.

The Chiefs haven’t been afraid to experiment with Duvernay-Tardif either, as he lined up at right tackle on Saturday and left guard on Sunday. His athleticism is apparent, though he remains raw, and the upside is noticeable, much like Fulton’s, whose size and strength — he simply looks bigger than Duvernay-Tardif — shined at times this weekend.

But during a camp that’s all about self improvement, don’t expect Fulton to go crowing about his current areas of focus. The hope is he’ll soon improve his flexibility, which will improve his ability to get to the second level and execute combination blocks. The sooner he does that, the sooner he’ll have a chance to compete for playing time.

“I think I’m OK in that aspect,” Fulton said. “But I think I can be a lot better.”

[planetdoc]

Rookie Mini-Camp Report – Practice #2
by Bob Gretz

After working the first practice of the Chiefs rookie mini-camp indoors on Saturday, head coach Andy Reid took his squad outside for work in practice No. 2 on a muggy Sunday afternoon.

On top of that, Reid put them through almost two hours of work at a very brisk pace. Those players who were not in tiptop condition struggled near the end of practice. Given that only a handful of players had actually been in an NFL mini-camp before, it’s not a surprise that the youngsters got an education in just what the pros expect from productive physical condition.

The roster for the three-day mini-camp stands at 65 players, broken down this way:

2014 Chiefs draft choices – 6.
2014 undrafted rookie free agents – 11.
Players designated as first-year – 13.
Tryout players – 35.

They worked only in helmets, with no other pads and no tackling. That makes it folly to divine any real evaluation of talent. All one can do is see which players get the most practice snaps and how they are used.

Here are observations from Sunday’s practice:

– Quarterback Aaron Murray appears to be at full-go in practice, coming just six months after a torn ACL and surgery on his left knee. He seemed to be able to move around without much trouble, even with a brace on that leg.

– And please, for those fans that don’t like short quarterbacks and their penchant for having passes knocked down, Murray had two throws rejected by defenders. He also threw an ugly interception when he was flushed left and let go of an errant pass that was grabbed by tryout linebacker Nate Dreiling from Pittsburg State.

– Murray did hook up on a nice deep post pattern to first-year tight end Demetrius Harris. The former basketball player was able to get behind safety Malcolm Bronson on the play and Murray put the ball in a great position for Harris to catch with his hands.

– When the Chiefs lined up on offense the first offensive line group was set up this way: left tackle Chandler Burden, left guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, center Alonzo Harmon, right guard Zach Fulton and right tackle Ryan McGee.

– That L.D.T. was working at guard is a good sign for him. If the Chiefs believe he can play guard and tackle, the Canadian’s roster opportunity increases in dramatic fashion. He told the media he weighed in for the camp at 307 pounds, making him the leanest 300 pounds plus on the roster.

– The busiest offensive player was fourth-round draft choice De’Anthony Thomas, who lined up all over the place in Reid’s offense: in the backfield, as a wing back and in the slot. He caught at least a half-dozen passes on short routes in the middle of the field (between the hash marks), hoping the speedy University of Oregon product can produce yards after the catch.

– Here’s the lineup for the first defensive unit: Chas Alecxih, Kona Schwenke and Kenneth Carter. The outside linebackers were Dee Ford and Corey Miller, with Dreiling and Alonzo Highsmith. The cornerbacks were Phillip Gaines and Vernon Kearney, with safeties Dan Sorenson and Kacy Rodgers II.

– They worked some special teams in this segment, with emphasis on the kick return squad. Back to return kickoffs were Thomas, rookie wide receiver Albert Wilson, Canadian Football League import Weston Dressler, rookie running back Charcandrick West and first-year wide receivers Frankie Hammond and Fred Williams.

The Chiefs will wrap up the rookie mini-camp with a Monday practice. The veterans will be on the field come Tuesday for the first OTA session of the off-season.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by planetdoc

Rookie Mini-Camp Report – Practice #2
by Bob Gretz

...
– Here’s the lineup for the first defensive unit: Chas mutha****ing Alecxih, Kona Schwenke and Kenneth Carter. The outside linebackers were Dee Ford and Corey Miller, with Dreiling and Alonzo Highsmith. The cornerbacks were Phillip Gaines and Vernon Kearney, with safeties Dan Sorenson and Kacy Rodgers II.

[planetdoc]

Adjustments continue in rookie minicamp
by Herbie Teope

Two afternoons of practice are officially in the books, with one more day to go on Monday to conclude the Chiefs’ three-day rookie minicamp.

The practice tempo Sunday remained fast during 11-on-11 drills, but this time around appeared to offer fewer mistakes compared to Saturday.

Quarterback Aaron Murray, who threw four interceptions the previous day, only had one. His pick came courtesy of undrafted free-agent signing, former Tennessee-Martin inside linebacker Ben Johnson.

Of course, one of the biggest storylines from Day One was Murray’s ability to practice without limitations even with a brace on his left leg.

That carried over, as Murray once again showed no hesitation to tuck the ball and run when the pocket collapsed around him.

While the former Georgia Bulldog will battle rust considering he’s six months removed from a knee operation, it’s important to keep in mind the layoff and he’s throwing mostly to fellow rookies.

And of course, everyone is in shorts and helmet, making it difficult to properly assess full performance.

Here are other Sunday observations:

Gaines settling in. Cornerback Phillip Gaines, the team’s third-round pick (87th overall), had an interception on Saturday and looks comfortable among the rookies.

It’s probably for good reason.

The former Rice Owl has familiarity with the Chiefs’ defensive scheme based on his college experience playing in press-man coverage. Knowing what to expect helped his transition to what’s he’s seen so far in minicamp.

“It’s very similar,” Gaines said of the scheme comparison. “A lot of the time we press-man and it kind of takes away thinking for corners. When you don’t have to think, you can play as fast as you want. Like you said, at Rice and here there is a lot of press-man, so it’s all good.”

Still, Gaines knows he has some areas to work on before the Chiefs are in full pads, mostly his technique.

“I’m really working on hand placement,” he said, “feet movement and staying in front of the receiver because we don’t have pads on, so we can’t get into them too much. You just want to stay in front of them, have good technique and run with them up the field.”

Gaines, who left Rice weighing 185 pounds, said he arrived in Kansas City at 183 pounds. But he didn’t sound concerned about gaining weight in the coming months before the start of the regular season.

“I’m sure once I start eating right and lifting right,” Gaines said, “I could definitely get to the 190s consistently.”

Moving around. It’s early in the offseason process, but it’s also a good sign offensive tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has versatility.

Duvernay-Tardif, the second of the Chiefs two sixth-rounds picks, played right tackle on Saturday. But he moved inside Sunday, a position he became familiar with since being drafted and prior to the minicamp.

“Over the last two weeks I was practicing as a guard,” Duvernay-Tardif said before the afternoon practice. “Yesterday (Saturday) I went as a tackle, I don’t know exactly why, but today I’m going back as a guard.”

With Duvernay-Tardif moved to guard, Ryan McKee, a tryout invite from Southern Mississippi, played left tackle.

Duvernay-Tardif, who said he currently weighs 307 pounds, has been playing organized football for nine years, the first seven on the defensive line before switching to the offensive line in 2011.

The McGill University product said while he played various positions on the offensive line in college, he added he’s more comfortable on the left side at tackle or guard.

And that flexibility could come in handy once organized team activities (OTAs) kick off in full bloom as the Chiefs attempt to identify and develop a swing tackle.

But even then, he’ll also have to adjust to the speed of the outside pass rushers in the NFL from what he was accustomed to facing in Canada.

“Well, of course it’s different,” Duvernay-Tardif said of the speed he’s faced in minicamp. “But especially the alignment where I’m not used to having a rusher that far on the edge. So I think I just need to get used to guys that are more vertical and I think I’m going to be able to catch that.”

Calm before the storm. There are numerous positions primed for competition, but one battle sure to command attention is wide receiver since the Chiefs didn’t address it during the NFL Draft.

The Chiefs currently have 11 wide receivers under contract, and six are participating in rookie minicamp: Weston Dressler, Frankie Hammond, Jerrell Jackson, Darryl Surgent, Fred Williams and Albert Wilson.

Each had moments the past two days in shorts and helmet, with Jackson leading the way on the first day with nice grabs, and Dressler not far behind.

Sunday saw Dressler step to the plate again with a pair of athletic grabs during 11-on-11 drills. The first came on a nifty sideline catch where he extended to catch the ball while keeping his feet in the field of play. The second came on a sliding catch down the middle of the field between two defenders.

In the meantime, this can’t be stressed enough – it’s important to not get carried away with too much from rookie minicamp. While the catches are nice to observe, the reality is the receivers are also going against rookie cornerbacks.

The real fun occurs when the entire team comes together for OTAs and training camp. How the wide receivers perform against veteran cornerbacks and once the team is in full pads with contact will offer a proper gauge.

Crash course. That best describes the previous two days and likely Monday’s final day of rookie minicamp for running back/specialist De’Anthony Thomas, who will miss the next set of OTAs due to Oregon’s quarter system.

Thomas, who will be back for the mandatory OTAs on June 17-19, has shown a nice burst in shorts and helmet, and flashed the speed he’s known for.

While some could fear the former Oregon Duck will fall behind as he misses the OTAs on May 27-29, June 3-5 and June 10-13, there is one thing that will surely stick in his mind.

And that’s the booming voice of running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, who yelled, “Finish! Finish! Finish!” any time Thomas or any of the running backs had the ball.

Status check. The Chiefs wrapped up the second day Sunday afternoon, moving 64 players outdoors after practicing indoors on Saturday with 65.

Absent was defensive tackle Risean Broussard, who signed a reserve/future deal with the Chiefs on Jan. 29. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 278 pounds.

The Chiefs are expected to update Broussard’s status Monday.

[planetdoc]

http://www.kansascity.com/2014/05/25...-duvernay.html
By TEREZ A. PAYLOR
(highlights)

Practice observations

• Fifth-round quarterback Aaron Murray threw only one interception Sunday (after throwing four Saturday), but his accuracy was still a little off. Still, that’s to be expected only six months after an ACL injury.

• Tennessee-Martin inside linebacker Ben Johnson made a nice play when he picked off Murray once on a rollout.

• Running-back coach Eric Bieniemy is going to ride fourth-rounder De’Anthony Thomas this camp. Biemiemy was constantly screaming at Thomas and others to finish each play.

• CFL transport Weston Dressler made a sliding catch. He’s shown good hands and some shiftiness, so it will be interesting to see how he fares when the whole team gets here.

• Former Florida wide receiver Frankie Hammond had a nice practice. Hammond, who spent the 2013 season on the practice squad, flashed some quickness and was on the receiving end of a number of passes.

• Basketball-player-turned tight end Demetrius Harris has dropped some passes the last few days. Some of that has to do with spotty quarterback play, but you’d still like to see more consistency.

[kcchiefsus]

Thomas at running back is plain stupid. They're going to waste time with him there just like we did with McCluster. He's fine for the occasional gadget play out of the backfield but otherwise put him at ****ing receiver!

[Mother****erJones]

Meh nothing to get too excited about. Just hope they stay healthy and get ready for TC.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by kcchiefsus

Thomas at running back is plain stupid. They're going to waste time with him there just like we did with McCluster. He's fine for the occasional gadget play out of the backfield but otherwise put him at ****ing receiver!

Its rookie minicamps dude...
Posted via Mobile Device

[Tribal Warfare]

Rookie Mini Camp Day Two Recap


OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif


Q: Have you been able to process all that’s happened? Have you come to grips with all that’s transpired in the last few weeks?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “Yeah, I think I’m starting to get a good grasp on all the material. For sure it’s quite different than what I’m used to. But I’m smart enough, I think I’m going to be able to learn that.”

Q: What about the speed of the game that you’re seeing from your fellow rookies, especially like yesterday when you lined up against Dee Ford?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “Well of course it’s different. But especially the alignment where I’m not used to having a rusher that far on the edge. So I think I just need to get used to guys that are more vertical and I think I’m going to be able to catch that.”

Q: Where are you at on your kick step and your ability to get out to block those edge rush guys?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “Yeah I think I need to work on that. Coach gave me a few coaching points yesterday and I’m going to work on it. Over the last two weeks I was practicing as a guard. Yesterday I went as a tackle, I don’t know exactly why, but today I’m going back as a guard. So you’ll see me as a guard today.”

Q: Did you play left tackle at McGill?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “I played a mix of everything.”

Q: So are you pretty comfortable on the right side then?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “I think I’m more comfortable on the left and at guard.”

Q: They weigh you guys when you come in. What did you guys check in at when you got here?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “307.”

Q: Is that where you want to be or do you want to be at 320?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “We’ll see. I think I’m able to put weight [on] pretty easily. Over the last couple months with the combine and everything I was trying to get a bit cleaner. But I think I can put a couple pounds on easily. If coach wants me at 315 I will go at 315, 320 without any problem I think.”

Q: How long have you been playing organized football now?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “O-line, two years. Before that I was playing d-line. I played d-line for like seven years and o-line for two years. So like nine years.”

Q: Did football ever negatively impact your studies because of practices or games?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “Yeah, for sure. Sometime there is a lot of sacrifice you do. But I was trying to make the sacrifice more on the social aspect – my social life – than on football and medicine because those are my two real passions. And when you have passion you just don’t count the hours and you try to make it happen.”

Q: Did it happen the other way where your studies got in the way of your football?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “I mean for sure sometimes, especially over the last year I was in the hospital full-time doing rotations. So when you are working the night shift, sometime you’re not able to go to the morning meeting, but coach would understand that. Every week with the coaches I was making my own schedule with them. Let’s say I had a night shift on like a Wednesday for sure, the Thursday morning I won’t be there, but I’m going to be there at practice at night. So we [had] a special schedule.”

Q: And you were helping deliver babies the first two days of the draft?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “Yeah, I was in my NICU rotation, which stands for neonatal intensive care unit. So basically I was taking care of emergency c-sections, taking care of delivering premature babies. The fun story is the Friday night of the draft at like 5:30 in the evening I got a call for an emergency c-section with two twins that one had the cord over the head. So we had to operate really fast and it ends up being I miss the complete draft on Friday, so I’m trying to get my cell phone on me.”

Q: If you had been drafted that day the Chiefs would have had to wait?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “Yeah, that would be really funny.”

Q: How hard is it to have the mindset where you want to help people, but then on the field you want to hurt them?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “I don’t want to hurt people when I play. I just want to be really aggressive and do my job. I mean, for sure it’s two different aspects of life. I enjoy it. I love taking care of people. I love communicating with people, trying to find solutions. I also love working with my teammates as a team and trying to get the job done on the field.”

Q: Considering all the juggling that you’ve had to do in your life, you’ve learned to compartmentalize. Does it make this easier because all you’re focusing on is football?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “I wouldn’t say easy because I have a lot to learn on the technique side and my learning curve is pretty big. But at the same time to know that now I’m going to have the focus only on football for the next couple weeks, it’s going to be 100 percent football, I think I’m going to be able to learn a lot more and progress a lot more in the system.”

Q: You’re now around all these guys who are used to American football. Do you feel like you are behind where these guys are as far as technique and knowing the game?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “For sure. I think I’m a bit behind in term of technique, but I think I’m athletic and I go after it when I play. Those two aspects of the game are harder to coach and the technique aspect is maybe a bit easier. So I think I’m going to be able to learn that over the next couple weeks.”

Q: They’ve been working you out a little bit, they find out where you’re strong at as far as training. What’s the biggest area you need to improve in strength-wise that they told you?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “Strength-wise, I would say maybe like rolling the hips. So just working on power clean, get up as fast as you can on pass protection.”

Q: You think that will help you in pass protection then?

DUVERNAY-TARDIF: “Yeah, for sure, for sure, especially on two-step drop when you want to be really aggressive on the line.”

G Zach Fulton

Q: What can you get out of this camp?

FULTON: “It is pretty physical despite popular belief. It does get pretty physical down in the trenches. I’m still working on my hand placement and my footwork and things like that. It’s the fundamentals.”

Q: It’s hard to stop those linemen when they get going, isn’t it?

FULTON: “It’s hard. It’s harder this time.”

Q: What do you do when you don’t have pads on?

FULTON: “You try to keep the same targets. It’s just a little bit slipperier. That’s all.”

Q: There has been a little work on the running game.

FULTON: “Yeah, we had a pretty good period of straight running plays and mixed it in throughout the whole practice.”

Q: Like getting to the second level and working on combination blocks. Where do you think you are with that?

FULTON: “I think I’m OK in that aspect, but I think I can be a lot better.”

Q: Has anything surprised you about this camp so far?

FULTON: “Not really. It’s kind of what I expected it to be – a lot of guys working hard trying to prove themselves.

”
Q: No surprises with the physicality?

FULTON: “No. Pretty much what I thought.”

Q: What benefit do you think an NFL weight program would mean to you?

FULTON: “We’ve lifted for about two weeks now since we’ve been here. I think it’s helping out a lot. They have a lot of different things than college that will improve us as persons and on the field as well.”

Q: What one area in particular do they want you to get better at?

FULTON: “They want me to be more flexible. That’s what they want.

”
Q: How’s that going to help you?

FULTON: “It will help me move a lot better, move a lot faster.”

Q: Do they feel it’s a high ceiling for you to do that?

FULTON: “Yeah, exactly.”

CB Phillip Gaines

Q: How’s it going so far?

GAINES: “It’s going really well, getting back into the swing of things and getting back into football shape and everything. We’re all having fun out here.”

Q: Was it helpful mentally to be around here before minicamp started?

GAINES: “Absolutely. We got into the playbook about two weeks earlier than everybody got here, so it definitely sped the game up for the people that were here and it’s made it a lot easier.”

Q: How hard are Al Harris and Emmitt Thomas coaching you so far?

GAINES: “They can coach me as hard as they want because they know a lot more than me. Anything they tell me, I’ll do. I’m loving it for sure.”

Q: Are you just trying to come in here and show that you’re ready to be a hard worker?

GAINES: “Absolutely. Like I said they have way more knowledge than me, so I’ll never talk back or anything like that. Anything they tell me to do, I’m going to do 100 percent.

”
Q: What are you working on in your game?

GAINES: “I’m really working on hand placement, feet movement and staying in front of the receiver because we don’t have pads on so we can’t get into them too much. You just want to stay in front of them, have good technique and run with them up the field.”

Q: What happened with the interception yesterday?

GAINES: “It was a tight split, an outside fade, and the quarterback kind of led him outside. I got some good hands on him, wide on him, so they probably just got their timing messed up. I just looked back and made a play on the ball.”

Q: What about guys getting vertical on you? Weston Dressler got behind you yesterday one time and you’re probably not used to that.

GAINES: “Any receiver here is good, so I love going against everybody. Every day is a challenge, so I want to better myself and I want them to get better as well. I think I did alright. I still have to get back into the groove of things, because from a pressing standpoint, you always have to be in the groove. Like I said, we just got back out here, so I just need to get back in it.”

Q: How similar is the press man coverage you did at Rice to the one here?

GAINES: “It’s very similar. A lot of the time we press man and it kind of takes away thinking for corners. When you don’t have to think, you can play as fast as you want. Like you said, at Rice and here there is a lot of press man, so it’s all good.”

Q: How much did you weigh when you got here?

GAINES: “I was 183.”

Q: How much do you think you can get to? Can you get stronger?

GAINES: “Oh yeah. I honestly don’t know how big I can get, but I’m sure once I start eating right and lifting right, I could definitely get to the 190s consistently.”

Q: What kind of benefit do you think an NFL weight training program will have for you?

GAINES: “Especially being in press a lot of the time, being strong with the receivers and getting hands on them and being strong with them, so that way they can’t move you off your place. Once you get that and the technique and the strength, all of that bundles into one and you get a good corner."

[Mr. Laz]

I think Reid likes his Oline big ... DUVERNAY-TARDIF will probably be another guy in the mix at guard.

I still wonder whether or not they want Allen to be the swing OT

[Discuss Thrower]

That's the most God awful post formatting I've ever seen.

[RealSNR]

Repost

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

That's the most God awful post formatting I've ever seen.

The raw version is a wall of text