By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Chiefs had a full-pads practice Thursday as they finalize preparations for their first preseason game at San Francisco this Saturday.
The starters will play in only the first quarter, the second string will be in for the second quarter and so on.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes just hopes to see smooth operation for the time that he's in the game.
"Just going out there and executing," Mahomes said. "In and out of the huddle, making the right calls, getting the ball out of my hands, making some plays happen. You'd always like to score, but at the end of the day, if the communications and procedures in and out of the huddle, especially with so many new guys on the offensive line, I think that'd be a win for me throughout this first game."
There’s certainly going to be lots of eyes on this newly reassembled Chiefs offensive line. Head coach Andy Reid says he hopes that group just continues to do what they’ve been doing in training camp, and apply it to a game situation.
"That continuity and communication," Reid said. "Working together through different looks...functioning."
Defensively, safety Tyrann Mathieu hopes they can keep the 49ers scoreless. He also hopes that some of the younger players on defense can continue to take steps forward and get better.
"I think anytime a defense takes the field, you want to keep the other team out of the end zone," Mathieu said. "I think that's most important, and obviously you want to see the young guys kind of step up, make plays. I think the most important thing is you want to be able to communicate. You want to have sound communication. Obviously, you don't want to have any mental errors."
The Chiefs kick off against the 49ers on Saturday night at 7:30 central. You can hear the game on Q Country 92.7 FM in St. Joseph.
Injury update
Linebacker Willie Gay, defensive end Alex Okafor and right tackle Mike Remmers all came back in limited capacity Thursday.
"They all did a little bit of something," Reid reported.
Defensive end Frank Clark left practice early Thursday with hamstring spasms. So did cornerback BoPete Keyes with a dislocated finger and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, who has a hip flexor ailment.
Right guard Kyle Long is still shelved with a knee injury. Tight end Evan Baylis (ankle), left guard Luarent Duvarney-Tardif (hand), receiver Antonio Callaway (bone bruise) and defensive ends Taco Charlton (unknown) and Malik Herring (knee) did not practice Thursday.
Mahomes vs. Mathieu
The best part of training camp is getting to watch the first-team offense go against the first-team defense in 11-on-11 team drills. Best on best. Iron sharpens iron.
So, it's always entertaining when Mahomes throws up a pass and someone like Tyrann Mathieu is back in coverage trying to defend it. Mahomes says Mathieu has a tendency to back off of a wide receiver to give the impression that the receiver is open.
Then once the ball is in the air, Mathieu is able to get back on the receiver and knock the ball away.
"He kind of puts me on my toes," Mahomes said of Mathieu. "He makes sure I'm ready for all sorts of different things. I mean, he's truly a special talent."
Not surprisingly, the Honey Badger feels the same way about Mahomes.
"You know, he's not your average quarterback," Mathieu said. "He can put the ball anywhere at any spot on the field. But, I think us just kind of working off of each other, competing with each other, that mental gymnastics that we go through pre-snap and post snap, just trying to find each other and what we're doing, I think it's going to make both of us sharper."
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