By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their 14th training camp practice Tuesday morning at Missouri Western in St. Joseph.
The Chiefs have just five practices left in all, and only two more before their first preseason game on Sunday at New Orleans.
Everyone wants to get a glimpse at the rookies and the new players in that game, especially since starters will be limited. However, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo says there’s one thing he watches for above all else in preseason.
"Particularly more interested in finding out where we are as a tackling group," Spagnuolo said. "Where we are at eliminating big plays. You have to do that stuff first before you even think about being any good."
The rookies on the Chiefs’ roster have a lot thrown at them during training camp. The coaches cycle them through a very large volume of plays. Then, come game time, the coaches scale back that number of plays, so the game feels slower to them.
Spagnuolo says the training camp challenge is more mental, and the challenge of the first preseason game is more physical.
"The mental part of it, we always want to challenge them here (in camp)," he said. "In these preseason games, to find out what they can do physically. We usually take some of that off of them. Otherwise, we won't know where they are athletically in this particular setting."
One rookie on defense many will be curious to watch is first-round pick, K-State alum, Kansas City native and defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah. Spags says Felix’s “pitch count” in practice has gone up in recent days.
On the offensive side, tight end Blake Bell is hopeful for a healthier preseason and regular season after a hip injury against Chicago in last year's preseason opener eventually landed him on injured reserve.
"Just trying to get back this offseason and stretch and keep my body loose a little bit," Bell said. "But, yeah. Feeling good. Such a freak injury. Doctors did a good job getting me fixed up. Trainers did a great job as well, so feeling great. Ready to roll."
Injury report
Tight end Jody Forston (shoulder), receiver Kadarius Toney (shoulder) and corner L’Jarius Sneed (knee) are still injured.
Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was out Tuesday with illness. Chris Jones hasn’t reported. Receiver Cornell Powell was back Tuesday after being absent Monday.
Observations from Tuesday
Conditions were quite pleasant with a mixture of clouds and sun and temperatures in the low-to-mid 70s. It was a somewhat longer practice, as it stretched more than two hours.
The Chiefs ran two long drive periods with first-team offense against first-team defense, running a series of 'third and long' scenarios.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Rashee Rice each had some nice catches on deep routes, while Travis Kelce leaped up in the air to snatch a ball away from Nick Bolton in tight coverage.
When the reserves came in, tight end Izaiah Gathings made an incredible catch, falling backwards on his back.
Noah Gray once again had a solid, consistent day catching the football. Running back Deneric Prince got the heavy load of carries with both the first and second-team offense, as Edwards-Helaire was out with illness.
Defensive growth
The Chiefs ranked 19th in the NFL last season in pass defense, 16th in scoring defense and 11th in total defense.
Kansas City’s defense did manage 20 takeaways last season, but that tied for sixth fewest in the league.
This year in training camp, Chiefs players and coaches have stated that it’s their goal to be a top 10 defense in the NFL this season.
Linebacker Nick Bolton says the team is taking steps to get there. Right now, Bolton says communication is the biggest thing that’s improved compared to this time last year.
"Everybody is communicating and feeling more comfortable," Bolton said. "We can talk to each other and give each other hand signals and kind of know what each other is thinking. That helps us out a lot. If we keep doing that and building on that, I think we're in a good position."
What's next
The Chiefs practice again on Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. before a day off on Thursday. The Chiefs will practice again on Friday in St. Joseph before heading for New Orleans.
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