Monday July 22nd marked the beginning of the 2013 season for the Kansas City Chiefs, as rookies, quarterbacks and injured players checked into Scanlon Hall on the Campus of Missouri Western State for reporting day. The main focus of the day was to hear from the new faces of the of the franchise; Coach Andy Reid and new quarterback Alex Smith. Both seem excited about the up and coming season and are anxious to get training camp started and hopefully rise out of the stump of last season.
“Expectations for me is to win the first game”, says Smith, “looking beyond that, sites are set on Jacksonville. I think the entire locker room is hungry. Expectations are high and I believe that is a great thing.”
Kansas City fans should be more than excited to hear that from their new quarterback from San Francisco. The Chiefs are looking forward to Smith competing at the same level as great quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Phillip Rivers, who also happen to be in the same division.
Coach Andy Reid gave us more of a run through of how the training camp will run and how he is ready to get this season started.
“We will meet tonight and get them out there on the field tomorrow and have a short practice and a walkthrough in the afternoon. Meetings will also be in between, so there will be meetings tonight and meetings throughout tomorrow. We’ll do that for three days.”
Kansas City Chief veterans do not report until July 25th so the rookies, quarterbacks and injured players will have time to get used to the system and “have enough of a foundation where you aren’t starting from scratch.” Reid wants to make sure players get used to the hot and humid climate of Kansas City and also “test them with a number of plays going in.”
Coach Reid wanted it known that his players should expect to work hard at his camp.
“It’s going to be a physical camp, it will be a challenge for them. They have got to come back and they have got to be ready to go. It will challenge you, that’s what it does and that is what this game is about. It is a tough game. Tough guys play it, it is a long season so this is building a foundation for that.”
As tough and grueling as Andy Reid made his camp out to be, most of the rookies seem excited to take on the challenge and get this show on the road.
Rookie Sanders Commings out of the University of Georgia is ready to tackle his first NFL training camp.
“It is my first NFL camp, I am excited about it. It is a dream come true to be here. I am looking forward to just working hard and getting ready with the team.”
Rookie Knile Davis from the University of Alabama expressed the same feelings about camp and his first year in the NFL.
“I am anxious. I like the facilities, I like the place, I like where we are at and I am just ready to get started. Getting here early will kind of help usget in the flow of things before the vets get here.”
The Chiefs number one draft pick Eric Fisher was not in attendance due to contract negotiations but as soon as deals are signed, they will look forward to having him as a part of the team.
Chiefs training camp is closed off to the public until Friday July 26th. Fans should be ecstatic about this up and coming season. If the positivity and excitement that came from talking to the coach, rookies and quarterbacks was just a snapshot of what is to come this season then Kansas City should expect some good football in 2013.
