The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 25

THE NFL THE KANSAS CITY STAR Tuesday August 7 2001 kwwwkansascitycom A P-R PORT Rams win Hall of Fame game The Associated Press THE DAY IN (AMP Germaine was 11 of 13 and ran for a score Last MVP in the NFL Faulk even play As almost all of the frontline players for both teams watched from the sidelines Bulger in his second year after not getting in last season with New Orieans hit three key passes as the Rams drove 57 yards in six plays before finding Robinson on a play action pass on second and goaL The best shot at tying the game ended when Josh Heupel who led Oklahoma to the national championship last season threw a pass through the end zone with 1 minute 53 seconds left willing to work at Marc Bulger tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Robinson early in the fourth quarter for the winning points The Rams retooled their defense after last season hiring a new coordinator and neyv line secondary and special-teams coaches They also added six-time Pro Bowl cor-nerback Aeneas Williams linebackers Mark Fields and Davis linemen Cedric Jones and Tyoka Jackson and safety Kim Herring Warner the MVP in 1999 played only one series and attempt a pass His backup Joe CANTON Ohio Without Kurt Warner throwing a pass or Marshall Faulk touching the ball the St Louis Rams still beat the Miami Dolphins 17-10 Monday night in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame game They can thank their new defensive approach very pleased with the effort defensively learning the discipline of St Louis coach Mike Martz said going to take some time We know it But Defense: Defensive end Duane Clemons was excused from both practices to attend the funeral of Korey Stringer in Ohio and returned in time for evening meetings Clemons and Stringer were teammates in Minnesota from 1996 to 1999 William Bartee opened the morning practice at left comer ahead of Eric Warfield Bartee and Warfield continue to battle it out for the starting job though Warfield is listed ahead of Bartee on the current depth chart Defensive end Eric Hicks had a strong morning practice In 11-on-ll play he twice blew past offensive tackle Victor Riley for sacks and was also a terror against the run Offense: Quarterback Ttent Green continues to display stunning accuracy in 11-on-ll drills In the morning goal-line practice he threaded a pass between two linebackers to tight end Tony Gonzalez fora score Running back Frank Moreau showed good speed when he burst loose for a long gain on an off-tackle play Running back Derrick Blaylock made a sweet catch in traffic on a ball that was thrown behind him while running a seam route Running back Priest Holmes showed some toughness after he snagged a pass over the middle absorbed a crushing hit from safety Greg Wesley and kept running upfield INJURY REPORT Home (hamstring) did some work in the morning but sat out in the afternoon linebacker Wes Robertson left the afternoon practice with heat cramps and did not return Wide receiver Sylvester Morris (knee) is not in camp Defensive tackles Dan Williams (foot) Terdell Sands (foot) and Thomas Washington (back) fullback George Layne (ankle) linebacker Larry Atkins (ankle) safety Brad TTout (head) wide receiver Dante Hall (hamstring) did riot practice Wide receiver Tony RECEIVERS RETURN Marvin Minnis (ankle) suited up and participated in light throwing and seven-on-seven drills but stayed out of contact work While so many receivers are either out or unable to play at full speeed Chris Thomas continues to make the most of his opportunity to run with the first team now Chris Thomas is our best wide receiver" said Vermeil who coached Thomas in 1999 with St Louis "He catches the ball well he knows our system and he stayed healthy Right now our most consistent The receivers were almost at full strength for the first time in camp during the morning session Denick Alexander tendon) returned for the morning session but appeared to aggravate the injury while making a cut during an 11-on-ll drill He received onfield treatment and returned for the end of practice Tbny Home who has been held out since tweaking a hamstring last Triesday suited up but did not participate in contact drills in the morning and sat out practice in the afternoon JEFF ROBERSONThe Kansas City Star With the heat still on the Chiefs left their shoulder pads on the sidelines during practice GREEN: Quarterback improving TEMPERS FLARE Through just more than a week Martin got nasty with each other of two-a-day practices there have during an 11-on-ll drill been few memorable scraps be- Wiegmann shoved Martin after tween offensive and defensive one play and Martin responded by players That changed Monday af- shoving back The two players con-temoon when center Casey Wieg- tinued to exchange pleasantries mann and defensive tackle Steve throughout the drill NFL REPORT PAIRIOTS ASSISTANT DIES New England quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein died Monday making the Patriots the second NFL team this summer dealing with grief during training camp Rehbein 45 died of heart failure at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston A team spokesman said Rehbein who had heart disease checked himself into the hospital over the weekend complaining of discomfort Rehbein who had an internal pacemaker because of cardiomyopathy suffered an apparent heart attack Monday morning and extensive resuscitation efforts failed He coached for 23 seasons in the NFL beginning in 1979 with the Green Bay Packers SHOULDER SLOWS GEORGE It looks as if the Chiefs face 1 Jeff George on Sunday A sore right shoulder has landed George the Washington Redskins quarterback in a hospital for tests and then on the sideline for at least a week George had an MRI exam one day after he felt a while throwing for the first time in six days Initial readings of the test showed no major injury and confirmed the team's earlier diagnosis of tendinitis CHARGERS SIGN BREES Drew Brees the record-setting quarterback from Purdue agreed to a four-year contract with the San Diego Chargers The deal is worth roughly $10 million and includes a signing bonus of close to $2 million a source close to the negotiations said Brees the first pick in the second round of the NR draft who threw for a Big Ten-record 1 1 792 yards in college is expected to be at practice NO CHANGES PLANNED NFL commissioner Paul Tagli-abue does not believe the league will change its training-camp schedule to reduce the risk of heatstroke which killed Minneso ta Vikings lineman Korey Stringer last week "We feel very positive that this issue of heat heat-related illness is something our physicians and trainers have been on top of and will continue to be on top Tagli-abue said at the Cleveland Browns training camp in Berea Ohio Tagliabue noted that the players' union has never raised heat as a concern In other heat-related news Indianapolis Colts linemen Ryan Diem and Josh Williams were helped from the field near the end of practice in Terre Haute Ind Colts coach Jim Mora said the players had heat-related illnesses but they had appeared to recover Wide receiver Na Brown and tackle Jon Runyan left the Philadelphia Eagles' morning practice because of heat-related problems in Bethlehem Pa STEWART FEELS TWINGE Detroit Lions running back lames Stewart slightly strained his right hamstring during practice at University Center Mich Stewart who rushed for a career-high 1 1 84 yards in 2000 was expected to lighten his workload after today 's scheduled day off this point we don't believe it's very serious" Lions coach Mar ty Momhinweg said MCNAIR BACK AT WORK Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair participated in drills in Nashville ending a short layoff to rest a tired shoulder He was held out of three days of work with the Indianapolis Colts and had his shoulder tested after reporting a sore shoulder last Wednesday McNair was having problems with the same shoulder that had a mysterious infection during the off-seasoa BUC HOSPITALIZED Tampa Bay rookie tight end Dauntae' Finger was taken to a hospital for tests after experiencing shortness of breath and an irregular heartbeat during practice Finger a seventh-round draft pick was taken to St Hospital in Tampa where die team said he would remain overnight for additional tests today JAGUAR RETIRES Jacksonville Jaguars safety' Craig Miller retired four days after being carried off the field on a stretcher following a neck injury Sfm News Services RARE OPPORTUNITY After the conclusion of the regu- Rookie free-agent quarterback lar practice the Chiefs held an 1 1- Ryan Helming took every snap The on-1 1 session for players who have practice time was also key for other not been getting regular reps with players who will battle to stay off the first and second teams tire first cutdown list Aug 28 and I have started to get those veteran eyes where wide receivers and quarterbacks can just look at each other and know really going on" Mayes said something I hoped would come I knew it would take some time but already starting to get it down even more of a competitor than I even imagined He expects to complete every pass He puts that pressure on himself and he puts that responsibility on his receivers" Vermeil and Saunders were familiar with Green from their time together with the Rams But several players were eager for training camp to begin to see exactly what Green was all about finding out throwing is as accurate as billed had heard about his great touch on the ball that he could put it right where you needed running back Priest Holmes said asked him to give me the ball in a certain place and right away he did it It a problem for him no hesitation about where going to deliver the ball It's obvious got this offense down" Familiarity with the offense is yet another reason the Chiefs acquired Green of us are worried about Trent and where going to Saunders said concern is developing the people around him that will allow him to function as the quarterback we know The sooner that happens the sooner going to have the results we Continued from C-l feel his Those words brought a smile to face two years after he lost his starting job with St Louis because of his knee injury take as much work as I can Green said of the plans for game talked to the coaches a little bit about that Hopefully as the week progresses we can kind of narrow it down if it's going to be a number of plays if going to be the first quarter or second quarter if going to be based on production anticipating playing and hopefully it will go well real happy with the way going and I want to get out there in a red game and real fire and see how going to hold developments continued the training-camp pattern of positive news for the Chiefs regarding Greea Many of the burning issues entering camp involved Green: Would his knee hold up and if so could he get enough practice time to be ready for the Sept 9 season opener against Oakland? Everyone involved has been pleased with the answers so far Green has practiced more than the Chiefs initially expected His only absences from practice were mandated by Vermeil and the training staff Between meetings and twice-daily practice sessions Green have enough time to adequately continue his rehabilitation program So he has skipped some early portions of certain afternoon practices to rehab getting the work out of him that I hoped I would get out of Vermeil said the coaching vacation (in early July) he continued to work with our medical staff and had no problems knock on wood not an issue still monitor but as far as concerned ready to Ironically the problem been Green's health but that of those around him specifically the wide receivers Derrick Alexander Marvin Minnis and Tony Home returned to practice Monday morning after extended absences but sore hamstring again prevented him from working in the afternoon Since Green missed most of the off-season workouts because of his rehabilitation he needs every pass he can throw to players who will be part of the receiving rotation still getting used to the people around offensive coordinator A1 Saunders said hard to get a rhythm that you'd like without being able to work with the guys on a consistent basis been the Green appears to be making progress with the receivers who have been healthy He hooked up recently with Derrick Mayes for a touchdown on a fade pattern both altered after seeing comerback William Bartee sitting on the route Mayes cut inside and Green placed the pass where only the receiver could get it REFEREES VISIT To inform players and coaches on a few new rules as well as reemphasize current regulations the NFL is sending game referees to each camp to display two short videos A crew attended practices and will show the videos to tire Chiefs tonight According to the video on sportsmanship the NFL will particularly emphasize rules on taunting and celebrations Group celebrations will continue to draw penalties while cases of individual taunting such as trash talking will be closely monitored POSITION ANALYSIS: FULLBACK One phrase that has sprain in a special-teams drill been conspicuous by Iriesday the 5-foot-1 1 250- its absence in this ooqoo pound Layne had been camp is working as the team's No 2 ning back by commit- ypQAtl fullback behind And definitely la son Noted for his lead a good thing for Tony blocking at TCU where Richardson who is firmly 1 PaYe with locked in as the full- record-setting LaDain- back and will also play in ian Tomlinson Layne certain sets at tailback has shown surprisingly good The 6-foot-1 232-pound hands in camp for a guy who Richardson is a valuable commodi- played in an option offense ty simply because he can do a little With Layne out veteran free bit of everything He runs well agent Jermaine Williams and Blue catches everything thrown his way Valley North graduate Pete Muther is an excellent lead blocker and ex- are getting more reps Both players cels at picking up the blitz however face an uphill battle to Before suffering a high ankle make the 53-man roster POSNANSKI: Receivers speedy TICKETS AVAILABLE TODAY'S SCHEDULE The Chiefs will have a special-teams practices at 9:30 am and a regular practice at 4 The Chiefs announced that 600 extra tickets are available for preseason opener against Washingtoa Call tire Chiefs' ticket office at (816) 920-9400 FINAL WORD Moses) and some catch everything thrown their way (Derrick Mayes) and some keep injuring themselves (Alexander) None though has the breakaway speed that make the St Louis Rams offense so devastating Are they fast the biggest question the Chiefs will have to answer this season This team has its strengths and weaknesses They have some Pro Bowl players (Donnie Edwards Tony Gonzalez Will Shields Eric Hicks) and they have some holes (comerback lack of depth everywhere) They have a new quarterback new running back new coaching staff They are like a lot of other teams out there They are trying to find an identity And if the receivers can get open quick pull out all the old Charlie Joiner tricks then this team has a chance TVent Green can really throw and the running game looks better and the defensive line has a chance to be special and so on But if not see the encyclopedia entry learning" Joiner says takes time And it takes a willingness to run all out all the time That's how you make up for a lack of speed You never stop running You never stop working You can make up for a lack of speed They're learning The Chiefs receivers better learn that And fast about brains" Joiner says and he points to his head to underline the point has nothing to do with speed You've got to think fast got to adjust fast how you get Joiner is trying to teach the Chiefs receivers how to do it slow But it takes some adjustments Take Derrick Alexander used to taking a step or two then juking the defensive back shaking and faking until the defender commits one way then Alexander goes the other way All that has made him pretty successful in the past But in this system all that takes too long got to get open instantly This offense has no time for stutter-steps or hard cuts they taught back in high school In this offense you run as fast as you can and you don't slow down when you cut and you get to the spot where the ball will Ire thrown before the defensive back can get there so much timing in this offense" Chiefs quarterback Trent Green says my job to get the ball to them in a position to make plays Then their job to make the plays" Can die Chiefs receivers do that? Well there are 1 1 of them in camp though only Alexander is an accomplished NFL receiver Some have looked solid (Chris Thomas for instance) and some have shown great bursts of quickness JJ Continued from C-l You ready? They are really slow How slow? Remember that scene in "Forrest Gump" when the high school in Greenbow Ala is having football practice and the wide receiver catches the ball and he runs as fast he can and then Forest Gump runs on the field and passes the guy as if a fire slow How slow? Donnie Edwards is faster than any of the Chiefs receivers except maybe Tony Home and Edwards is a linebacker How slow? At the beginning of training camp two coaches were walking off the field and one muttered can outrun half our receivers" How slow? Aweek ago the Chiefs semi-desperately tried out sprinter John Capel (Why not Maurice Greene?) We are not talking about a fast group here Then again the Chiefs will tell you that you have to be fast to get open and for proof look no further than the new wide-receivers coach Charlie Joiner folk about the Saint of Slowpokes This guy was slower than health-care reform But as a receiver he also made more catches for more yards than any player before him in the Hall of Fame Nobody on earth coukl cover Charlie Joiner He was a miracle really what we get for every- buy a Honda Civic or something" body on this team driving an SUV Offensive tackle John Thit This is global warming I need to when asked about Monday's heat Ivan CarterThe Star COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF f33 PAYS 10 20 30 40.