Chiefs Conclude Camp, Prepare for Rams

The Chiefs 2012 training camp is officially over, as the team held its final practice yesterday. The team has made some strides, looking very good in its first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals and establishing a depth chart. However, Kansas City has also suffered a few key injuries, and has several questions to answer with the regular season approaching.

The biggest question for Chiefs fans is the status of All-Pro wide receiver Dwayne Bowe – and at the moment, we don’t have an answer. The team failed to reach a long-term deal with their best wide receiver, and Bowe is currently holding out for a better deal. Some speculate that the team may choose not to resign Bowe, as the Chiefs will have several other important players who will need to be resigned in the near future, including Branden Albert, Jovan Belcher, Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Siler and Dustin Colquitt. Jonathan Baldwin, the team’s 2011 first round pick, had an impressive camp, and the team has other reliable receivers such as Steve Breaston. There is no denying, however, that Bowe makes the Chiefs a better team, and Kansas City is running out of time to get something done.

The Chiefs have also dealt with several injuries, and Brandon Flowers, Cameron Sheffield, DeQuan Menzie and Cyrus Gray will all miss the team’s second preseason game tomorrow against the St. Louis Rams. Flowers’ injury is the most concerning, as his hurt foot has yet to heal. Flowers should be ready to go by the time the regular season starts, but it would be nice for the Chiefs’ best corner to get some preseason reps in.

Kansas City travels to St. Louis tomorrow for its second preseason game. The Rams’ looked terrible in their first preseason contest, getting destroyed by the Indianapolis Colts 38-3. Many thought St. Louis would be improved this year, with Sam Bradford maturing and new head coach Jeff Fisher running the team, but their first preseason game was a disappointment. Kansas City looked very sharp in its first preseason game, and tomorrow’s game will be a good opportunity for the team to continue to work in its new offense.

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Chiefs Release First Depth Chart

With the 2012 NFL regular season only a few weeks away, the Chiefs have announced their first unofficial depth chart. While most positions were already etched in stone, there were a few surprises on this first chart.

The biggest surprise may be at nose tackle, where journeyman Anthony Toribio is listed as the starter over first round pick Dontari Poe. Toribio has had a terrific camp, and Poe is still learning the ropes, so perhaps this is simply a motivational tool for Poe. Another interesting note is that Steve Breaston is listed as a starting receiver. Dwayne Bowe is still in the midst of a holdout, which means Breaston is the de facto starter opposite of second-year man Jonathan Baldwin. Also, despite a reputation of being one of the most dynamic running backs in football, this is the first Chiefs depth chart that actually features Jamaal Charles in the starter’s role.

While most expected Brady Quinn to win the job as Matt Cassel’s backup, he has been in a battle with Ricky Stanzi for the position. The first chart lists Quinn ahead of Stanzi, while rookie Alex Tanney is the fourth quarterback on the roster. It is hard to imagine the Chiefs keeping four healthy QBs when the season starts, which means Tanney will have to beat out Stanzi if he wants to avoid a spot on the practice squad.

The first unofficial depth chart is below. The starters are listed first.

Offense

WR: Steve Breaston, Dexter McCluster, Josh Bellamy, Devon Wylie, Aaron Weaver, Zeke Markshausen

LT: Branden Albert, Donald Stephenson

LG: Ryan Lilja, Jeff Allen, Rich Ranglin

C: Rodney Hudson, Lucas Patterson, Rob Bruggeman, Cam Holland

RG: Jon Asamoah, Darryl Harris, Justin Cheadle

RT: Eric Winston, David Mims, Ray Willis

TE: Kevin Boss, Tony Moeaki, Steve Maneri, Jake O'Connell, Tim Biere

WR: Jon Baldwin, Terrance Copper, Jamar Newsome, Jeremy Horne, Brandon Kinnie, Junior Hemingway,

QB: Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn, Ricky Stanzi, Alex Tanney

FB: Shane Bannon, Patrick DiMarco

RB: Jamaal Charles, Peyton Hillis, Shaun Draughn, Cyrus Gray, Nate Eachus


Defense

RDE: Glenn Dorsey, Amon Gordon, Brandon Bair, Ethan Johnson

NT: Anthony Toribio, Dontari Poe, Jerrell Powe

LDE: Tyson Jackson, Ropati Pitoitua, Allen Bailey, Jerome Long

ROLB: Tamba Hali, Cameron Sheffield, Edgar Jones

RILB: Derrick Johnson, Cory Greenwood, Leon Williams

LILB: Jovan Belcher, Brandon Siler, Caleb Campbell, Dexter Heyman

LOLB: Justin Houston, Andy Studebaker, Gabe Miller

RCB: Stanford Routt, Javier Arenas, De'Quan Menzie, Neiko Thorpe, Mikail Baker

LCB: Brandon Flowers, Jalil Brown, Jacques Reeves, Chandler Fenner

FS: Kendrick Lewis, Travis Daniels, Donald Washington, Tysyn Hartman, Dominique Ellis

SS: Eric Berry, Abram Elam, Jean Fanor, Terrance Parks


Special Teams

P: Dustin Colquitt, Matt Szymanski

K: Ryan Succop, Matt Szymanski

Long Snapper: Thomas Gafford, Cory Greenwood, Andy Studebaker

Holder: Dustin Colquitt, Brady Quinn, Ricky Stanzi

PR: Javier Arenas, Dexter McCluster, Devon Wylie

KR: Javier Arenas, Dexter McCluster, Devon Wylie

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Kansas City Chiefs 2012 Training Camp Preview

The Chiefs’ 2012 training camp is approaching, which means that a new NFL season is just around the corner. The team’s camp will be presented by Heartland Health at Missouri Western State University located in St. Joseph, MO and will begin tomorrow. The camp will run through Aug. 16, with outdoor practices open to the public (indoor practices due to inclement weather will not be open to the public). A full list of the team’s training camp schedule can be found here.

The Chiefs will host a night practice at Spratt Stadium on Tuesday, July 31 at 7:15 p.m. The Chiefs annual Family Fun Day presented by American Family Insurance will be held on Saturday, Aug. 4 at 1:30 p.m. at Spratt Stadium. Missouri Western will charge a $5 admission fee with no charge for children ages three and under.

This will be a critical camp for the team, as the Chiefs are installing a completely new offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Several new starters will also need to be integrated into the system, most center Rodney Hudson and right tackle Eric Winston. While Dwayne Bowe is still absent, last year’s first round pick Jonathan Baldwin will have an opportunity to continue to impress coaches and teammates and acquire a bigger role in the offense.

One of the biggest goals the Chiefs have is to simply get healthy – on offense, Jamaal Charles, Matt Cassel and Tony Moeaki are all returning from season ending injuries. Defensively, Eric Berry is also back, and will try to build on the promise he showed during a pro-bowl caliber rookie campaign.

The most interesting position battle may be at quarterback – where newly signed Brady Quinn will battle with 2011 fifth-round pick Ricky Stanzi for the backup spot behind Matt Cassel. Given Cassel’s injury history and his inconsistent play, there is a chance that more than one signal-caller leads the team during the regular season.

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Chiefs Fail To Reach Long-Term Deal With Dwayne Bowe

The Chiefs and Dwayne Bowe had until 3:00 p.m. yesterday to reach a long-term contract agreement, and both sides were unable to strike a deal. That now means that Bowe will now have to agree to play the 2012 season with a one year deal worth $9.5 million.

Bowe has officially been holding out since Kansas City slapped the franchise tag on him in March, and he has refused to sign the one-year tender the Chiefs have offered, holding out for a long-term deal with more money guaranteed. Bowe has been the Chiefs leading receiver over the past two seasons, and made the pro bowl after his stellar 2010 campaign. He reportedly was looking for a contract similar to the one Vincent Jackson received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $55 million over 5 years – although it was highly unlikely from the start that the Chiefs would commit to that amount of money.

It is hard to predict the outcome of this situation, as many are unsure of how badly the Chiefs want to sign Bowe to a long-term contract. Bowe has had his ups and downs, but there is no denying his productivity recently, despite some inconsistent play from his quarterbacks. However, the Chiefs will have a lot of players to resign in 2013 when the contracts of Branden Albert, Jovan Belcher, Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Siler and Dustin Colquitt are all up, which means Kansas City might want to have some cap flexibility. Also keep in mind that the Chiefs selected Jonathan Baldwin in the first round last year, and have beefed up their WR depth over the last two offseasons.

In the meantime, the ball is in Bowe’s court. He can sign for one season and negotiate with the Chiefs later, or he can continue to hold out and opt not to play this year. No matter where you stand on Bowe and what he deserves, one thing is certain – Kansas City is a much better football team with him on the field.

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Chiefs Start Minicamp Without Dwayne Bowe

Kansas City started its mandatory three-day minicamp yesterday with one glaring absence: All-Pro wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. The Chiefs’ wide out has yet to sign his franchise tender, which means he is currently not under contract and is not required to participate in these drills.

Bowe is coming off his second consecutive productive season, catching 81 passes last year for 1,159 yards and five touchdowns. Bowe was able to produce despite injuries and inconsistency in the Chiefs’ QB rotation, and he is obviously a huge part of Kansas City’s offense.

There are several troubling factors to Bowe’s current holdout. First, there is no guarantee of when the WR will join his teammates. Bowe could be on the practice field when training camp starts in a little over a month or the day before the Chiefs first game – there is no current time table. Also, Kansas City is installing a new offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, which many Chiefs players have deemed as being somewhat complex. Hopefully Bowe will be able to join the team soon and have enough time to pick up the new offense. Kansas City cannot afford a repeat of last year, when the Chiefs had an absolutely dreadful start to the regular season, and needs all its players on the same page.

One silver lining of Bowe’s absence is that second year Jonathan Baldwin has been able to receive more reps. Baldwin, last year’s first round draft pick, missed last offseason due to the NFL lock out, and has reportedly made some big strides in training camp.

Several other Kansas City players also missed the minicamp due to injuries. Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki all sat out due while they recover from injuries sustained last season, while rookie WR Devon Wylie missed practice due to an injured hamstring.

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