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RIVER FALLS WRAP: Days Nine and Ten
Aug 06, 2006, 1:57:01 PM
by Josh Looney
Breakdown: The Chiefs have an off-day on Sunday after a very eventful weekend in the Northwoods. The club traveled to Mankato, Minnesota on Friday night for a joint practice with the Vikings and hosted annual fan favorite “Family Fun Night” on Saturday evening at Ramer Sports Complex.
“At Motel Chiefs We’ll Leave The Light On For You”: As the Chiefs charter buses rolled into River Falls late Friday night, the team was welcomed back to town surrounded by complete darkness. The university’s main source of power and its backup both failed shortly after the club left the Cheese State for practice with the Vikings. The blackout lasted just over 24 hours, starting at 2:50 PM, Friday and ending at 3:08 PM, Saturday.
Head coach Herm Edwards and his staff have made a habit of adapting to situations beyond their control during the team’s first week in River Falls. Whether it’s been record high temperatures, torrential downpours or lack of electricity, the club has been able to overcome adversity and go about their business in a normal fashion.
Friday’s blackout forced Chiefs players and staff to sleep in rooms with no air conditioning, shower in un-lit restrooms and find off-campus meals on their own. Computers were rendered useless and the team’s video staff was unable to upload film from the Chiefs/Vikings practice. Edwards and his troops refused to allow the multiple hiccups to faze them and continued on with their Saturday meeting schedule. Family Fun Night went on as scheduled and was held without any delays or disruptions. Luckily, Ramer Stadium’s lights run on a different power source than the rest of campus and were left unaffected by the blackout.
Edwards has said throughout training camp that he enjoys inconvenience. He believes inconvenience builds team character and makes the entire unit tougher and stronger.
“Fantastic,” Edwards said of the blackout. “It was really fantastic last night when I checked beds, because I checked beds last night at 12 o’clock. Some of the guys were standing outside and it was hot. I told them the story when I was growing up I didn’t have air conditioning, so guess what? Go to bed. You’re not going anywhere. It’s tough but that’s what we’ve got to do. I thought our players handled it very, very well.”
Mankato Recap: Friday night’s joint practice had the feel of a small college football game. Approximately 7,500 packed the football stadium at Minnesota State University (an NCAA Division II program) to get an early glimpse of their teams. Vikings fans filled the home bleachers, while Chiefs fans filled the visitor’s stands. Fans unable to secure a seat overflowed to a hill in the south end zone. The entire night was a unique experience as fans would cheer and “boo” much like a real game even though players were only performing practice drills.
Players weaved their way between beer tents, autograph seekers and stalled traffic to begin stretching on the fields around 6:00 PM. The Vikings held their warm-ups in Blakeslee Stadium while the Chiefs stretched on the adjourning practice field. After warm-ups, the Chiefs defense met the Vikings offense in Blakeslee Stadium to perform team drills while the Chiefs offense welcomed the Vikings defense for drills on the practice field.
Both fields ran identical practice periods. The sessions kicked off with the inside run drill on the north 20-yard line while the wide receivers/defensive backs one-on-one drill parked itself at the south 20. Defensive coordinator Gunter Cunningham and defensive line coach Tim Krumrie barked instructions to defensive linemen and linebackers at inside run while defensive backs coach David Gibbs critiqued the one-on-one drills.
S Jarrad Page and CB Benny Sapp both looked impressive during the one-on-one session, displaying quick breaks and tallying up a few pass break ups. On the other end of the field, the Chiefs defensive line, especially the first-unit, had a great inside run session. LB’s Kawika Mitchell and Derrick Johnson looked particularly quick on their stunts and filled holes between the tackles with relative ease.
7-on-7 and 11-on-11 segments followed and gave fans plenty to cheer about. Noteworthy plays during the 7-on-7 session included Pro Bowl S Sammy Knight laying a big hit on Minnesota FB Steven Jackson after a catch in the flats. CB Benny Sapp parlayed his quality effort during the one-on-one drill with swift breaks on the ball and LB Kawika Mitchell showed impressive air when he jumped and batted down a QB Brad Johnson pass. First-round pick DE Tamba Hali turned heads throughout the evening with an explosive first step and a seemingly impossible spin move on his pass rush.
If T Kyle Turley’s two-year absence from the game has left him a bit rusty, it couldn’t be noticed during the 11-on-11 drill. Turley stoned and drove Minnesota’s 2005 first-round draft pick DE Erasmus James on the first play and displayed solid pass protection throughout the night. WR Samie Parker hauled in two tough QB Trent Green passes during the segment. Parker made a difficult catch in traffic for a 12-yard gain and added a 25-yard reception with outstretched arms on a high pass around the left hash right in front of a Viking defender.
At 7:45 PM the two teams met as complete units for the final 30 minutes of practice inside Blakeslee stadium. Following work on punt and kick coverage, the teams participated in what could be described as a “controlled scrimmage.” The team periods were paced at what is known as a “thud tempo,” meaning players stayed high and laid hits on each other, but did not take offensive players to the ground.
The Chiefs held several offensive veterans out of the team segment: QB Trent, RB Larry Johnson, G Will Shields and C Casey Wiegmann. Noteworthy starters on the offensive line include Kyle Turley at left tackle, Kevin Sampson at right tackle and Jordan Black at left guard. RB Dee Brown got loose for a few solid gains and CB Jerald Brown put a big hit on Viking WR Chris Jones after a short out route.
“I’m really proud of both teams,” Edwards commented. “I thought the contact was good. As a former player I know how it works: when you haven’t faced a team in a practice everybody’s trying to feel everybody out. When things got going, however, it was good competition. We kept it within the lines. We played football.”
FFN Recap: The parking lot at Ramer Sports Complex looked similar to a miniature Arrowhead Stadium parking lot as tailgaters secured their parking spots as early as 12:30 PM. Gates to the stadium opened at 4:30 PM and autograph seekers lined the track waiting for players to arrive. The club took the field around 6:30 PM and signed autographs for a 20-minute period before beginning practice at 7:00 PM.
Continued....