By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Chiefs were back in St. Joseph Monday for training camp after a 19-16 win over San Francisco in the first preseason game Saturday.
The team practiced in helmets and shorts for about two hours on what was a very pleasant morning with clear skies and temperatures in the 60s and 70s.
All-in-all, coach Andy Reid felt pretty good about what he saw in the first preseason game, especially from the younger players who got most of the snaps.
"There were some good things," Reid said. "There were things that we can definitely learn from. Most of all, it was good to get the young guys some reps in there. I thought they did a nice job for the most part, assignment wise, effort wise. And down the stretch, it was nice to see them battle and get the win."
While the starting offensive line didn't see all that many snaps Saturday, Reid has liked the way that newly formed O-line has come together, particularly rookies Creed Humphrey (center), Trey Smith (right guard) and Lucas Niang (right tackle), who have all been practicing with the first-team offense throughout camp.
"They had 11 snaps I believe it was," Reid said of the starting linemen. "I thought they did a good job with what they had. We'll keep increasing (their snap count) as we go. They'll get a little more (work) this week and see how that rolls, but normally that's how that happens."
Smith, the rookie out of Tennessee, is feeling better about his overall grasp of the offense now compared to when camp started on July 28.
"I'm going out there and understanding what I'm supposed to do on most of the plays," Smith said. "Just having a better football understanding and what we're trying to get accomplished and the concept of the actual plays."
Injury wise, linebacker Willie Gay and tackle Mike Remmers were at full speed Monday. Gay had been coming back in limited capacity from concussion protocol, but was a full participant in team drills.
Remmers meanwhile missed a decent portion of camp due to back spasms, but he too was a participant in team drills. After starting camp out at right tackle, Remmers was playing left tackle behind Orlando Brown, Jr. Monday.
Reid says not to look into it too much.
"He can play either/or," Reid said of Remmers. "I wouldn't read much into that."
Receiver Marcus Kemp and linebacker Darrius Harris also practiced Monday after getting dinged up in Saturday’s game.
Those who did not practice Monday include guard Kyle Long (knee), receiver Antonio Callaway (bone bruise), defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (hip flexor), running back Elijah McGuire (ankle), tight end Evan Baylis (ankle), linebacker Riley Cole (ankle) and defensive end Malik Herring (knee).
Jody Forston
The second-year pro out of Valdosta State is making a strong case for making the 53-man roster by August 31.
After making three catches for 32 yards against San Francisco Saturday, Forston made several more catches in Monday's practice, including a deep pass down the sideline from Chad Henne.
Blake Bell
Bell enters his seventh year in the NFL and his second with the Chiefs after re-signing with the team in March.
Behind Travis Kelce and Bell, several guys like Forston and rookie Noah Gray have been battling to make plays at the tight end spot and be the No. 3 guy.
At 6-6 and 250 pounds, Bell has proven himself to be a solid blocking tight end. Bell says he'll just do whatever he can to be a better teammate and help the offense in any way possible.
"I've always been a guy where I'm going to do whatever I can to help the team," Bell said Monday. "I feel like every year, I'm getting better and better at blocking, and that's just reps. So, yeah if I'm going to be out there, if they need me to run a route or if they need me to block, and it's 3rd and short, I'm going to do it."
The Chiefs have just two more training camp practices left - the last one is on Wednesday.
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