Monday training camp notebook: Steve Spagnuolo’s notes and nuggets

Denny Medley-




After Monday’s eighth practice of training camp, Kansas City’s defensive coordinator spoke with reporters.

For Monday’s eighth practice of their training camp at Missouri Western State Univerity in St. Joseph, the Kansas City Chiefs ran a more focused 10-10-10 session ahead of Tuesday’s scheduled off day. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo spoke with the media following the session.


While his unit deserves a large share of credit for the Chiefs repeating as NFL champions in 2023, he appeared concerned with how camp has gone so far for his side of the ball.


“I didn’t think the first day in pads was good for us,” Spagnuolo recalled. “Maybe it was the second day — the day we had the short-yardage goal line. I thought the guys stepped it up after that — after we challenged them in meetings and today was a 10-10-10, so it was more execution and mental.


“We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a lot of guys banged up. We’re kind of working through that.”


Spagnuolo offered his observations on some key defensive stories through the first few days in pads.


Felix Anudike-Uzomah




Despite his underwhelming rookie season, analysts have largely been giving strong reviews for 2023’s first-round pick. Spagnuolo was more measured in his comments about the former Kansas State edge rusher.


“I think Felix has gotten a little bit better every day,” the coach noted. “I think there were a couple of practices there where he struggled a little bit. I think his confidence is better. The last two days, he’s been pretty good. Yesterday and today, I thought he did pretty good. Without watching the tape, I thought he had some good plays.


Linebackers




It appears the Chiefs’ base defense will feature Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill and Leo Chenal at the second level. With NFL defenses increasingly using nickel packages as their default alignment, Spagnuolo values the trio’s versatility.


“I think all three of those guys have certain skillsets that we would like to use,” he said. “When you have three linebackers coming in there, somebody is coming out. There’s one less [defensive back] or there’s one less D-lineman. We’ve got to work our way through that. One of the things we do like is when guys can play multiple positions. Like Leo — he’s kind of all over the place. Drew’s [been able] to play some MIKE linebacker.


“[When] you get to about next week — I talked about it with the staff the other day — you’ve got to start thinking about guys in dual roles, now. Pretty soon, it’s not 90 guys anymore. All of a sudden, our number of guys shrinks. Guys are going to have to have dual responsibilities.”


Spagnuolo reiterated confidence that the defense can run through either Bolton or Tranquill.


“They’re both very cerebral, very smart,” said Spagnuolo, “I think they feed off of each other that way. That goes a long way. I’ll bet if you ask D-linemen, they’d tell you they appreciate that the guys that are behind them are really sharp. They’re ahead of things — you know, ‘Watch out for this motion” or ‘Watch out for that shift’”


Spagnuolo thinks this helps the whole defense.


“When you’ve got two guys that can do that — instead of just one — I think it makes everything go a little like that. I think the rest of the defense knows that about those two guys — and really relies on them. I watch DBs go over and ask Drue and Nick questions about playing DB in the defense — because they know that those two guys know exactly what’s going on.”


Bryan Cook




After missing the end of the 2023 season with a leg injury, Spagnuolo believes the team’s starting safety is fully back.


“We missed him when he got hurt last year,” he remarked. “The one thing about Bryan is he goes 100 miles an hour all of the time. He’ll tell you he was a little bit rusty getting back into it. But I think it’s kind of smooth for him right now.”


Kelvin Joseph




Joseph — a former second-round selection of the Dallas Cowboys — appears to have taken advantage of injuries to other cornerbacks to make a case for the 53-man roster. Spagnuolo also revealed why the fourth-year pro missed practice time last week.


“I don’t know if you know,” reported Spagnuolo, “[but] he had a baby, so he was gone for a little bit. We lost him there, so he was a little behind. He’s playing catch-up now. He’s getting some work with the ‘ones.’ He had a couple of plays yesterday, so he earned that. He’s going to be right in the thick of things with the other corner. I need three of them. He’s made enough plays, I think, to warrant working with the first group.”










Injury report






*
Returned to practice: LG Joe Thuney (pectoral)

*
Out of practice (due to injury): WR Hollywood Brown (illness since 7/28), RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness since 7/28), CB Nazeeh Johnson (hamstring/knee since 7/28), DT Chris Jones (groin since 7/28), WR Justin Watson (foot since 7/24)

*
Non-football injury (NFI) list: S Justin Reid (out with quad since 7/21), DL BJ Thompson (non-football injury since 7/21)

*
Physically unable to perform (PUP) list: DT Derrick Nnadi (out with triceps since 7/21), DL Charles Omenihu (out with ACL since 7/21), CB Jaylen Watson (out with labrum)





Post of the day




Our Taylor Bell compiled all of Monday’s posts here. Here is the post of the day:




Nice round of cheers and applause from fans and teammates as Joe Thuney comes down in spiders and shells after passing his physical. His first practice after coming off PUP list. pic.twitter.com/yFPp8YE5BV— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) July 29, 2024






First practice of camp for the All-Pro left guard.


Quote of the day




Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo being honest about 10-10-10 workouts: “It’s a little agonizing for me, sometimes, because you can’t do anything physically.”


What’s next?




Monday’s practice leads into a day off for the Chiefs on Tuesday before practice again on Wednesday. That workout begins at 9:15 a.m. Arrowhead Time. Head coach Andy Reid will address the media following the practice as linebackers sign autographs.


Here’s the complete 2024 training camp schedule.


https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2024/7/29/24208867/chiefs-training-camp-notebook-steve-spagnuolo-notes-and-nuggets?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger