Day 2: KC Chiefs Training Camp Report

ST. JOSEPH, MO - With boot camp underway for the Kansas City Chiefs, some young guys are taking full advantage of the trimmed roster. On Saturday, a few defensive players stood out while a couple of young offensive lineman were able to get some practice time that could benefit their roster chances.

CHIEFS TRAINING CAMP NOTES:

DT Dion Gales It's hard to invest too much into how guys are looking this early in camp. So instead I focused on the player-coach interactions. And that led me to the relationship that was forming between Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel and Defensive Tackle Dion Gales. Even though the Chiefs signed veteran Kelly Gregg on Saturday, Gales received a lot of attention from the defensive coaches during the teams technique drills. On the other hand, defensive end Tyson Jackson didn't get that much love.

There are two different ways to interpret this. The first is that Jackson has been performing so well that he negates the need for one-on-one coaching. Or, Dion Gales is receiving the attention because the coaches believe he is worthy of their time. I'll leave the assumptions up to you.

LB Andy Studebaker - With the retirement of veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel earlier this month, the young guns sensing an opportunity to take his job, stepped up their game on Saturday.

Studabaker looked very comfortable on the field Saturday and had a swagger that indicates, he's ready to take the job at outside linebacker that was vacated by Vrabel. If he's going to be that guy and he's going to stave of the teams third round pick Justin Houston, Studebaker is going to play like a confident linebacker to win the job outright.

But Studabaker was not the only linebacker that caught my attention. After missing the entire 2010 campaign, Outside Linebacker Cameroon Sheffield appears to be fully recovered and ready to earn his paycheck in 2011.

In fact he had some company in that regard on Saturday. Both Pierre Walters and Micah Johnson look to be serious about back up rolls. Both players stood out and they could be a couple of names to keep an eye on the next five weeks.

3.Where's the Beef Starting? - The afternoon scrimmages offered a taste of what the Chiefs 2011 offensive line could become. The left side of the line consisted of LT Brandon Albert and LG Ryan Lilja. On the flip side, Jon Asamoah played Guard and Bobby Greenwood played right tackle. With Casey Wiegmann unable to practice until the 4th of August, Darryl Harris played center.

Now its way too early to assume where or who will ultimately become the five starters. Because at this point of training camp, the team has only a pair of tackle allowed to practice.

So at this point Greenwood and Harris are playing the positions by default. But you can't take away the experience they're going to gain this next week with the veteran and undrafted free agents unable to get on the field.

Greenwood joined the Chiefs last season as a defensive end and has spent the last year transitioning to the offensive side of the ball.

In the case of Darryl Harris, he filled in admirably for Brian Waters during camp before falling with an injury that derailed his opportunity. Day One: Chiefs Training Camp Report.

WARPAINT ILLUSTRATED MESSAGE BOARDS:
Cameron Sheffield is 100% again and could challenge for playing time in 2011.

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