By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Even one of the best offenses in football can have an off day.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense had their share of struggles at Monday’s training camp practice.
The defensive line got to Patrick Mahomes (no tackling) four different times, there were a handful of dropped passes and other missteps. Orlando Brown, Jr. was whistled offsides at one point. Jarran Reed got to the running backs at the line of scrimmage a number of times as well.
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy wasn’t all that worried. In fact, he says days like Monday are what will truly make a team better.
"These are the days that help develop championship teams," Bieniemy said. "It's hot, we're tired, we've been beating up on each other for the past few weeks or whatever. But, these are the days you look back upon that help define the character of the team."
The offense picked up its pace in the latter half of practice during 11-on-11 drills. They went through a lot of different scenarios - blitz period, red zone, 3rd and 7, goal line, starting from the one-yard line and so on.
Receivers Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman, along with tight end Marcus Kemp, all made nice plays in the receiving game, while running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had nice burst out of the backfield when the ball came his way.
Hardman is among those receivers competing to get more catches in the absence of Sammy Watkins, who signed with the Ravens in the offseason.
"Mentally, just being prepared and being ready when my number is called and an opportunity presents itself," Hardman said. "Just got to come into this camp ready, take on any challenge that's in front of you. Sammy's not here, so there's more snaps to go around to replace that. So, someone has to step up and fill in the role."
On the injury front, running back Darrel Williams missed Monday’s practice with a knee injury. That allowed Jerick McKinnon to get a large number of reps with the first-team offense.
Defensive end Joshua Kaindoh left practice early Monday with a hamstring.
Linebacker Willie Gay is in concussion protocol, and defensive end Alex Okafor is still out with a hamstring. Others missing in action include right tackle Mike Remmers (back), right guard Kyle Long (knee), tight end Evan Baylis (ankle), Antonio Callaway (bone bruise).
Receiver Chad Williams, and defensive linemen Derrick Nnadi and Tyler Clark were all back in full pads after some bumps and bruises over their own in the last few days.
The Chiefs will practice in helmets and shorts Tuesday and rest Wednesday.
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