River Falls Recap: 8/6 PM Practice

It was a sunny day for the Chiefs’ single-session practice Thursday afternoon. With the temperature set at 75 degrees and relatively no humidity, it made for a comfortable practice.

Linebacker Mike Vrabel was in pads again today after taking it easy Wednesday. Newly acquired quarterback Matt Gutierrez was at practice and participated in drills. His arrival to camp shows that Haley is pressing for competition.

Safeties Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page continue to work with the first-team defense together. Pollard showed up at today’s practice and had a nice tackle on Larry Johnson on a pitch toward the right sideline.

With struggles in the receiver corps, coaches are not tolerating mistakes. Devard Darling lined up wrong during a set of 11-on-11s, and Haley sent him packing to the locker room. Darling missed the last 35 minutes of practice. Quinten Lawrence has had trouble catching the ball and coaches have been getting on him about reaching out.

Linebackers Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, Mike Vrabel, and Monty Beisel have been running with the first-string defense on a consistent basis. Hali put pressure on quarterback Matt Cassel during a session of 11-on-11 play. Rookie defensive end Alex Magee continues to impress with his aggressive and powerful play and has been lining up ahead of Glenn Dorsey, with Alfonso Boone at the other end.

Kicker Ryan Succop attempted four field goals and made at least three. Whether his second kick was good could not be confirmed from the media’s vantage point, but he sent the ball through the uprights for certain on the other attempts. Succop kicked from the 24, 28, 32 and 35-yard lines.

Cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Brandon Flowers continue to work as the starters.

Quarterbacks Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen continue to share responsibilities with the second string. Croyle is gaining momentum after missing practice during the team’s OTA sessions this spring, but it’s uncertain who will win the backup job at the moment.

The first-string offensive line has been lining up as follows: left tackle Branden Albert, left guard Brian Waters, Center Rudy Niswanger, right guard Mike Goff and right tackle Damion McIntosh.

Back and practicing for the last couple sessions has been tight end Brad Cottam, who reclaimed his spot on the first-string offense.

Linebacker Vince Redd, recently acquired after being released by the New England Patriots, has shown hustle early here at training camp in runs with the second and first-string defense. Running back Dantrell Savage, wide receivers Rodney Wright and Quinten Lawrence and cornerback Jackie Bates took turns returning kickoffs.

Fullback Mike Cox is running hard, but has not touched the ball much although he is getting reps with the first-string offense. Linebacker Corey Mays had been vocal at practice. He is doing well with the second-string defense and appears to know what is expected of his role.

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