The notion that the 2017 football season is here started to settle in on Monday of this week as the Kansas City Chiefs headed into the second week of practice. Although they had been in pads over the weekend, the second week starts to push rookies to uncomfortable places and shows who is here to stay. Although finesse and deep analysis might reveal some surprise players, the simple eye test has stood the test of time.
While there was deeper analysis over the span of Monday and Tuesday, the eye test showed electricity on offense and toughness on defense. Rookies Patrick Mahomes II and Ukeme Eligwe stole the show again. Mahomes may have a long way to go, and is still relying on mental images over what is there, but much like his rookie brothers, he has been unshakable even in the mistakes. The Kansas City Chiefs training camp has given insight into deeper fundamentals that head coach Andy Reid and special teams coach Dave Toub seek.
Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp – Resilient Over First Week
Monday Brings Electricity
Under the glorious St. Joseph sunrise at 8:30AM, the Chiefs training camp brought electricity as the team returned for its second week of practice. Marcus Peters was the first player to make an impact. After a weekend of intense matchups with Tyreek Hill, Peters started out his second week with an interception off Tyler Bray which is proving Peters is going to be Peters.
Mahomes was the next player to pick up on the electric air. After a weekend lighting up the defense on roll out passes, Mahomes continued by taking the Chiefs offense 88 yards on five perfect passes. The first two passes were completed to rookie wide receiver Jehu Chesson. The touchdown pass sailed to Marcus Kemp in the corner of the end zone for a jump ball touchdown.
Mahomes again showed composure and understanding of how to incorporate his athleticism into the offense. He felt pressure increasing from the right side, but rotated to hit Chesson on the second pass. The Chesson – Mahomes connection will be important to watch this pre-season; both players could have deep implications for the future.
Not all is perfect with Mahomes. He has managed to throw passes that nail tight end Ross Travis in the back of the head. Hence, he is relying on the play over reading on some plays. Although he is making mistakes with processing some passes, he has shown willingness to learn from mistakes.
If there was any concern about starting quarterback Alex Smith, those thoughts should be dismissed. Over the weekend he looked much improved and showed it with his own 88-yard touchdown drive. Akin to what the Chiefs offense traditionally runs, Smith worked his way down field on short passes with Travis Kelce as the focus target. The Smith and Kelce partnership will be phenomenal this year; that factor has not changed. If anything, the connection has improved.
Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub was the recipient of media coverage for Monday. Although special teams is often overlooked at Chiefs training camp, they compose one of the best systems in the league. Coach Toub looks to add to that this year, calling out returner De’Anthony Thomas and rookie linebacker Ukeme Eligwe.
Thomas has taken over kick return duties and received the “toughest guy on the team” nod from Coach Toub for his efforts – “Pound for pound, he’s the toughest player we’ve got. No question.”
Eligwe also was praised.
“I have already got him [Eligwe] started on punt team, so that says a lot about him,” Toub said with regards to Eligwe. “I really see a bright future for him. He may not be with me for a long time because he may be on defense because he is that good.”
Rookie Tanoh Kpassagnon has had a quiet, but excellent camp so far. Instead of making flashy plays, he has shown outstanding fundamentals in the pass rush. Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton added as much after practice.
“We are working him both places right now,” Sutton explained. “He has done a good job. He has a knack for rushing. He is long. Just like Chris (Jones), he does a great job of getting his hands up and affecting throws. I think [Kpassagnon] would be the same there.”
Fundamentals are commonly missing among rookie pass rushers. Football is about the little things on the film, and Kpassagnon has flashed quick feet and even quicker hands to battle the bigger offensive lines in the NFL.
Linebacker Derrick Johnson, running back Charcandrick West, and cornerback Kenneth Acker did not practice on Monday for the Chiefs. Johnson had a tooth absess, West was resting his ankle, and Acker suffered a groin injury. Jordan Sterns sat out again due to injury.
Nickelodeon Kids Day – No Joke for the Defense
Tuesday summoned the month of August, and in some respect signaled the end of the ‘dog days of summer.’ For Chiefs fans who attended training camp, Tuesday was also the Nickelodeon Day of Play for the kids in Chiefs Kingdom. No, it may not have been football related, but it brought a great reminder all the Kansas City Chiefs do for the community. For a moment, fans got a glimpse of all the great tangential benefits an NFL organization can bring to a community.
However, while the kids were playing and joking around, the players, and in particular rookie linebacker Eligwe, were taking practice seriously. For the fourth day in a row, Eligwe impressed coaches with his ability to break up passes and play the linebacker position with comprehension of offensive schemes.
Transitioning to the NFL demands a growth of awareness. College systems rarely demand one player to moderate multiple offensive players at one-time due to intangible limitations. However, in the NFL, a linebacker in Eligwe’s position needs to read the quarterback, running back, tight end, watch for crossing routes, all while focusing on technique to get past incoming blockers.
On Tuesday, Eligwe earned plays with the first-string defense and did not disappoint as he broke up a pass from Smith to Spencer Ware.
“I was actually mad I didn’t catch it,” Eligwe explained. “(Ware) came in and kind of broke it up from me, because I had inside position. I would have caught it.”
While Eligwe has looked great so far, the reason he has earned first string reps is because Derrick Johnson was out for the second straight day with a tooth absess. The injury may not be football threatening, but seeing Johnson on the field would provide comfort that the Chiefs defense can be holistically efficient.
Fortunately, coach Reid appreciates the competition that has come out of the inside linebacker position.
“…Those young guys are full of energy and they even push the old guys by just energy level,” the Chiefs head coach noted. “The old guys push the young guys with the mental part of the game. It ends up being pretty good chemistry and good competition. So we’ll see how that all shakes out when it’s done.”
Over on the offensive side of the ball, the offense continued to display creativity by intermixing Tyreek Hill into pitches and the passing scheme. Kareem Hunt also earned praise from Coach Reid for the work he has put in while wearing pads.
“He looks pretty good. He’s put together well. He has a very strong lower body, we saw that at Toledo. It looks like the same thing,” Reid explained. “We’re expecting good things from him, we’ll just have to see. He’s young. We just have to keep teaching him.”
Kansas City Chiefs training camp takes a break on Wednesday, but will return Thursday at 8:15AM.
Follow @LWOS_KCChiefs for more updates throughout training camp!
